


Can't stop wanting you

by Sunshinecowger



Category: The 100 (TV), kabby - Fandom
Genre: Affairs, Alternate Universe, Angst, Best Friends, Betrayal, Boyfriends, Detective Griffin, Detective Kane, Engaged, Explicit Consent, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Foreplay, Girlfriends - Freeform, Guilt, Handcuffs, Hero Marcus, Hope, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, Interrogation, Kabby, Love, Love in hiding, Lust, Murder, Need, Pain, Partner Betrayal, Secret Relationship, Secrets Exposed, Semi-Public Sex, Sex, Shooting, Thriller, Violence, ache, hidden love, keeping secrets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-22
Updated: 2017-12-29
Packaged: 2018-12-18 13:38:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 36,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11875653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sunshinecowger/pseuds/Sunshinecowger
Summary: Abby is engaged to Jake, she loves him. Jake works on the force with none other than Marcus Kane. Marcus had been dating Cece and things had been going well for sometime. However there is one thing that Marcus and Abby can't get over, their growing attraction.One night they cross the line, neither wants to let the other go. Unfortunately, their affair leads to murder, deception and fear.Marcus will stop at nothing when it comes to protecting Abby.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Remember to give feedback, if I feel like people like the story, I'll keep updating.

Abby slipped on the black dress, it showed off just the right amount of cleavage and leg without being over the top. Her hair fell in waves around her shoulders.  
“Are you ready?”  
Jake yelled from the bottom of the stairs.  
“Yes, just a moment.”  
“We really have to go. Kane and Cece will be here any minute.”  
“I know.”  
She sprayed perfume on her neck.  
“I don’t know why this is such a big deal.”  
Abby yelled it down to him as she slipped on her black high heels that showed off her legs. Abby knew very well why it was a big deal. She grabbed her hand bag and headed down the stairs. Jake whistled when he saw her.  
“You look amazing.”  
She gave him a small smile before heading to the kitchen to pop a couple of aspirin to ward off the mounting headache. Abby heard the knock at the door and felt her stomach buzz. She heard her fiancé greet Kane and Cece.  
“Where is my beautiful friend?”  
Cece’s sweet voice drifted down the entry way and into the kitchen.  
“I’m in here.”  
She swallowed the pills quickly and downed it with a sip of cold bottled water from the fridge. By the time she was done her friend was headed into the kitchen. Cece was in an emerald green that fit her beautifully, her black hair swept up at the back of her neck.  
“You look gorgeous.”  
Cece smiled in response.  
“You don’t look so bad yourself, Abs. Are you ready?”  
“To see your boyfriend, receive a reward for being a hero? You know it.”  
They walked around the corner arm in arm. Marcus had his back turned to them as he was looking at something that Jake was pointing out to him.  
“I was showing Marcus your new collection of Beatles records.”  
“One day when we are married, I suppose they will belong to you too.”  
Jake smiled  
“You could just let me move in…..”  
He turned to Marcus.  
“She is so old fashion.”  
Marcus wasn’t looking at Jake, his eyes were on Abby before he quickly looked away.  
“Marcus, thank you for picking us up tonight.”  
He gave a quick nod before walking forward and kissing Abby on the cheek. As always she felt the rush of heat from the slight contact and always she hated herself for feeling anything.  
“Well, Jake and I have worked on the force together for some time. It would be wrong if you guys weren’t there….”  
Marcus looked at everyone else.  
“Shall we?” 

Marcus was always very aware of Abby’s presence. It drove him crazy. He had wanted to tell Jake and Abby that they didn’t need to attend. Cece would never have been ok with her best friend not attending. Now, Abby was sitting in the backseat. He could smell the perfume, the way it had lingered on him after he kissed her cheek. He had wanted to delve his face into her neck and tell her how he wanted to know each and every spot that she had dared to spray it. Had she thought of him at all when she showered and got ready? The same way he had thought about her? He hated himself for seeing Abby when it was Cece who was beneath him. It wasn’t fair to anyone in that vehicle. Marcus knew it and yet he couldn’t seem to help it. He ached to touch her, to kiss her, to hold her, to be deep within her.  
Now Cece was dropping hints that she wanted to get married and have kids. It seemed so wrong. He wasn’t sure what this tension was with Abby and he wondered if there was any way to get rid of the mounting frustration he felt every time he was around her.  
Jake and Cece had no idea that he wanted Abby. Although it had never been discussed, he and Abby both knew that they wanted the other. 

There were just some things that men and women knew about the other. A lust this strong was one of them. He had witnessed more than once how her eyes lingered on him. He knew Abby was aware how his hand stayed on the small of her back longer than necessary when they went together to pick out Cece’s birthday gift several weeks ago. The way they stood close when there was more than enough room in the elevator. He hadn’t kissed her and yet a day hadn’t passed when he hadn’t wished that he had. He wondered how his rough lips would feel against hers. How her delicate body would feel if he were to pull her against him. As he sat there, he had to talk his body down. He was turned on and all she was doing was merely sitting in the backseat.  
Abby felt it too, the magnetic pull. As if she wasn’t strong enough to stay away from him. She stared out the window, watching the flashes of light as they made their way down the street. Abby wondered how she could even think about Marcus like that. Cece’s boyfriend and her future husband’s best friend. If Abby thought about it long enough, she could almost feel Marcus’s hand on the small of her back and his breath against her ear as he whispered something to her in the crowded mall. It had been weeks ago since the moment happened and still she felt the heat move in her back at nothing more than the memory.  
“Abby?”  
She looked forward quickly at the sound of Cece’s voice.  
“I asked you if you set a date yet, Abby. Are you alright?”  
“Yes, I was only thinking.”  
“About marrying Jake, I’m sure.”  
Abby let out a small laugh as she looked into the rearview mirror where she met Marcus’s gaze. His eyes intent and dark. He knew exactly what she had been thinking and it was clear in that moment that he had been thinking it too. Quickly she looked away even though she desperately had wanted to hold his stare.  
“No, no wedding date yet. I want to wait a little longer.”  
“I can’t understand why and yet if that is what she wants then I will give her all the time in the world.”  
Jake reached out and took her hand, holding it gently as he smiled at her. Abby’s eyes darted back to the rear-view mirror, only Marcus was staring straight ahead now as he continued to drive. 

The ballroom was beautifully decorated. Black and white balloons filled the room. Marcus’s picture as he was dressed in his original police uniform hung on the stage. He had been young and clean cut then. His hair and been thick and short, not the longer version it was now. He sported a salt and pepper beard where the picture depicted him clean shaven. Abby could swoon over any version and as much as she loved her friend, she felt herself jealous that it was Cece that would take Marcus home and into her bed.  
“Cece, they want us up front for something.”  
The words came from Jake, she took his arm and made their way up front leaving Marcus and Abby at the back of the room.  
“I’m sure they have to go over who will say what before your big speech.”  
Marcus nodded.  
“I don’t like being the center of attention.”  
“I know.”  
He looked at her as he kept his arms behind his back. Marcus couldn’t speak for a minute as he stared at her side profile. Abby swallowed hard feeling his eyes on her.  
“What?”  
Abby looked at him quickly before licking her top lip and looking away. Suddenly she felt parched.  
“Would you like a drink?”  
She barely heard the words escape his lips. Abby nodded slowly.  
“I feel like that wasn’t what you wanted to say.”  
He arched an eyebrow before giving a slight nod.  
“It wasn’t.”  
Abby turned slightly in order to look at him.  
“What were you going to say?”  
He shook his head.  
“Something I shouldn’t”  
The electricity filled the air between them.  
“How I wish you would say something.”  
The quickest smiled moved across his face before he looked somber.  
“What I wouldn’t give, Abby.”  
“For what?”  
His eyes moved over her dress before they landed on hers again.  
“You know. Come on, Abby. You know.” 

To be continued……..


	2. Chapter 2

Abby looked at him quickly before licking her top lip and looking away. Suddenly she felt parched.  
“Would you like a drink?”  
She barely heard the words escape his lips. Abby nodded slowly.  
“I feel like that wasn’t what you wanted to say.”  
He arched an eyebrow before giving a slight nod.  
“It wasn’t.”  
Abby turned slightly in order to look at him.  
“What were you going to say?”  
He shook his head.  
“Something I shouldn’t”  
The electricity filled the air between them.  
“How I wish you would say something.”  
The quickest smiled moved across his face before he looked somber.  
“What I wouldn’t give, Abby.”  
“For what?”  
His eyes moved over her dress before they landed on hers again.  
“You know. Come on, Abby. You know.”  
Abby momentarily lost her breath. They were the only ones standing at the back, no one was near them and yet she felt like everyone knew what she was thinking. Her lips were slightly open as her tongue slowly darted out to flick the top lip. She wasn’t trying to be sexy, no, she was buying time. Here she was a woman who wanted to know the man that stood next to her and yet trying so hard not to want to feel the way it would feel to have his strong capable arms around her. His eyes were on hers, intent and sexy.  
“Marcus……”  
He shook his head.  
“Don’t!”  
He moved to look at her and his face was stern.  
“Don’t you dare deny it. Don’t.”  
Marcus didn’t reach out for her and yet they both knew that he wanted too.  
“I wasn’t going to say that.”  
He put his hands on his hips, he looked angry, frustrated and sexy as hell. Marcus looked at the floor between their feet.  
“What were you going to say?”  
Abby wished he would look up at her so that he would know she meant the words that she was going to speak.  
“I was going to tell you that if it wasn’t for those two people up on the stage going over all the great things they want to say about you……”  
Marcus looked up slowly.  
“What?”  
He spoke the one word softly as if everything in the world hung on the word. He was looking at her with the question burning in his eyes. He watched as Abby shook her head slowly.  
“Marcus, I would have actually dialed your number as the phone sat in my hands so many times. I would have sent the text that I typed out dozens of times. If it wasn’t for them, Marcus. If it wasn’t for Jake and Cece, if it wasn’t for the way I love them….”  
Abby stopped talking as she looked up to the stage and watched the people they loved, so lost in their conversation with the chief of police that they didn’t so much as suspect that the people they were in love wished to betray them. When Marcus spoke in a whisper, Abby listened intently.  
“We wouldn’t have to wonder what it was like to lay with the other.”  
She turned her head as she nodded.  
“Yes, we wouldn’t have to wonder. I’m trying so hard, Marcus not to be that woman that other women hate. I want to be the good friend and the good wife.”  
“I don’t know how long I can let you be either of those things.”  
“And I don’t know that I want you to let me keep being good. Marcus, when you look at me like that it doesn’t help anything.”  
“Then why did you wear that dress.”  
Abby gave a nod of her head and then let out a sad little laugh.  
“Because, Marcus……”  
He stepped closer, too close.  
“Why?”  
She stared at his lips. If she took a step, maybe two they would collide. Abby stayed right where she was, telling herself over and over to be good.  
“I wanted you to notice me.”  
His voice went deeper, husky, she wanted to hear him speak against her neck.  
“Oh Abby, I notice you. I notice you all the damn time. I would notice you if you were across the room and it was crowded. I wish I didn’t notice you.”  
“And I wish I didn’t notice you.”  
“Marcus!”  
They stepped apart as the voice intervened. The chief of police had walked off the stage, just then the doors to the back opened and the invited guests began to file in.  
“Sir, how are you?”  
“Not as good as you, you are the lucky bastard speaking to the future Mrs. Jake Griffin.”  
Marcus felt like hearing that was a punch to the gut. He should be happy for his Jake and instead he felt himself turn green. As Captain Jaha shook hands with Abby, Marcus found himself staring at her again. It was as if he physically unable to keep his eyes off of her. Captain Jaha turned back to face him.  
“Tonight, is the big night of course. Are you nervous?”  
“I wouldn’t say nervous.”  
Jaha laughed.  
“Let me guess, you just want to get this night over with. Dating a woman like Cece, no one can blame you for wanting to get home.”  
Marcus gave a slight laugh that he didn’t feel.  
“Don’t let Cece here you say that.”  
Jaha, Abby and Marcus all knew that Cece would not have been amused at the Captain’s joke.  
Abby watched Marcus briefly before forcing herself to look away. What she wouldn’t give to be able to stare at him without anyone knowing how she felt about him. She supposed it should bring some solace to know that Marcus wanted her in the same way she wanted him. Never in her life had she ever been so attracted to someone. To have it feel like she didn’t just want him, no, it felt like she needed him. Her body ached for his and yet she would never know what it was like. That moment when it was just the two of them before the captain interrupted would have to be enough. Her fantasies of him would have to sustain her and yet she knew deep down that it never would.  
“Well, Marcus….enjoy some dinner. The festivities are about to begin.”  
Jake and Cece were making their way towards them. Cece smiled at Marcus and linked her arm through his. Abby and Marcus made eye contact as Jake put his arm around her.  
“Shall we take our lovely dates to our table, Marcus?”  
Marcus ripped his eyes from Abby to look at Jake.  
“Indeed.”  
The dinner was lemon chicken with rice pilaf and a side salad. It was actually delicious. Abby forced herself to eat, if she didn’t she knew that Jake would begin to pester her all night about what was wrong.  
She forcibly kept her eyes off Marcus.  
“So, anyway I was telling Marcus that I would like to go on vacation. Wouldn’t it be fun if we went on a couple’s vacation, Abby? All four of us on some beach somewhere sipping drinks?”  
“Yes, that would be fun.”  
Abby said it without meaning it.  
“If you change your mind about getting married soon, we could do it on vacation.”  
The words came from Jake. Abby stared at him briefly before taking a sip of her wine.  
“Or we can just think about laying out.”  
Jake sighed and looked over at his friend.  
“Would you be able to keep yourself from marrying this girl?”  
Marcus just raised his eyebrows before taking a drink of his whisky. His eyes moved from Jake over to Abby.  
“Where exactly would you want to go, Cece?”  
“As long as I’m with the three of you, I don’t care.”  
Abby put her hand to her head that she was sure was showing signs of sweat.  
“Are you feeling ok, Abs?”  
“Yes, Cece. I was getting a headache before we left. I’m going to go out to the car and get some Tylenol. Excuse me.”  
“Let me come with you.”  
“Jake, I’m fine. I’ll be back.”  
He wasn’t a stupid man and he heard her tone. Sometimes she was a woman who just wanted to be alone. 

Abby opened the car door and slid into the passenger seat. In the console, Marcus always had a travel bottle of Tylenol. She quickly put two in her hand and popped them, swallowing them without any water. Abby laid her head back against the seat, letting the cool leather comfort her aching head.  
“Hey.”  
Abby jumped at the voice. Marcus was leaning on his heels as he had bent his knees so that he could look at her eye to eye. She looked around and then back at him.  
“What are you doing out here?”  
“I told them I had to go to the bathroom and then would check on you.”  
“Marcus, you can’t be this close to me.”  
“I need to be this close to you.”  
They weren’t touching and yet he had her trapped right where she was.  
“I know, but we will get caught. If this happens we will get caught.”  
“Abby…..”  
They were staring at each other intently. Marcus reached out and slowly let his fingers touch the softness of her face.  
Abby reached up and touched his hand, closing her eyes and leaning into his touch……

To be continued

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please be sure to leave feedback. The more you leave, the quicker I will update.


	3. Chapter 3

Abby felt her chest rise and fall, the warmth of his hand mesmerizing her, the feel of it against her face making her forget all rational logic. Without a thought she turned her face, letting her lips touch his skin.  
The move so sensual that Marcus gasped as her name cascaded from the lips that she wished to taste.  
His free hand traveled up her leg, no concern filled her thoughts as she allowed her head to lean back as her legs parted. His hand squeezing her thigh as his fingerrips up to the knuckle disappeared beneath the fabric as the material danced upon his hot skin.  
He released the clutch of his strong hand before he squeezed again, effectively making Abby take his forfinger into her mouth, her eyes closed as she dragged her teeth over him as she slowly pulled the finger out, not allowing the tip to fall from her lips. Marcus's moan was threateningly loud as he dropped his head to her leg, slowly he pulled the hem of her dress up revelaing her tan long, lean leg, then his mourh was on her, just above the knee. Abby lost one hand in his hair as he gave her a warm wet kiss. Marcus pulled back to look up her.  
"I have to be inside you, Abby."  
He saw his need mirrored in her own face as she looked at him like nothing in the world would satisfy her except for his mouth on hers. She parted her lips to speak.  
"Detective Kane?"  
They let go of each other quickly as he sttod.   
"Officer Sinclair, can I help you?"  
It was clear they dodged a bullet.  
"They are about to call you on stage."  
Marcus nodded and ran gis hands through his hair.   
"Thank you. We will be right in."  
With that the officer turned and left. Marcus offered his hand to Abby who took it as she stepped from the car. They stared at each other only briefly before Marcus hit the button on his key ring that effectively locked it with a small beep. They walked in silence back to the building. No words would be good enough. 

They took their seats. Jake and Callie none the wiser. Jaha stepped up to the podium, he smiled at the crowd.   
"We are here tonight to honor Marcus Kane. He would tell you himself that this is all unnecessary. Marcus does not like fanfare. However, this is one of those moments that we couldn't let pass. On September 19th, Marcus saved the lives of four children and their mother during a hostage situation. Although he called for backup, it was Marcus as a detective who had to difuse the situation. After seventeen hours of negotiations, Marcus walked out with all five hostages. I present to our hero, Marcus Kane."  
Marcus left his chair and moved up the steps, shaking hands with Jaha before accepting the plaque.   
Abby could watch him now without people reading into her motives. Her fingers danced at her clevage without her realizing it. Marcus nervously glanced around the room, he really didn't like this attention. Marcus set the plaque on the podium as he swallowed deeply. He cleared his throat before looking up. His eyes traveled to Abby, to her thick curls, to her eyes and then to her fingers. Damn it! Her sexiness would be the death of him. Marcus forced himself to stare at the back of the room.  
"The reason Jimmy, the dad and husband held his family hostage was because he was scared. He really did love his wife and children. When he found out that Lisa simply became attracted to someone else it terrified him. Lisa hadn't set out to hurt her husband, hadn't ever thought of destroying him or sending herself, John or their children on a journey that would lead them to a hostage stand off."   
Marcus swallowed hard before he spoke again.   
"People I don't think ever set out to hurt others. Attraction happens to the point that it takes captive of your very soul."  
His eyes darted to Abby, her fingers had stilled on her chest. She was a smart woman and she knew the words were meant for her. He forced himself to tear his gaze from her.   
"John just needed to be heard. I had to identify with him on some level in order to gain his trust. It was in doing that technique that allowed the outcome that we did. Thank you."   
Marcus shook Jaha's hand before taking his seat. Jake was called up nexr, followed by Cece.   
In Cece's speech she gave a declaration of love to Marcus which Abby knew he had never returned to the woman up on the stage. 

Abby's heart beat wildly as Marcus drove back along the same streets towards Abby's house. How badly she wanted him alone. He had said he wanted to be inside her. Abby wanted that too. She watched from the backseat with jealousy as Callie reached over and let her fingers graze through Marcus's thick, dark hair. It was only a couple of hours ago that Abby's own hand ran through his locks.   
"Marcus, I'm exhausted, I should stay at your house tonight so I don't have to drive home."   
"Not a good idea. I need to go over case files tonight."  
Abby felt relieved upon hearing his words. Callie slowly dropped her hand back in her lap. Abby knew that her friend was feeling rejected.   
Marcus pulled into Abby's driveway. Everyone stepped out to say their goodbyes. Abby hugged Cece while Jake and Marcus shook hands. Abby and Marcus moved towards each other as Callie and Jake hugged and spoke briefly. Marcus kissed Abby's cheek near her ear.  
"We are nowhere near finished."  
He pulled back and stared at her.  
"I look forward to next we meet, Marcus."  
Her hand rested briefly on his chest before she purposely pulled it away.   
Jake pulled his keys from his pocket as Marcus and Cece headed back to his vehicle.   
"Can't convince you to let me stay tonight?"  
Abby smiled her charming smile.  
"I have an early day tomorrow."  
He gave a disappointed nod before leaning into give her a quick peck to the lips.  
"See you this weekend."   
Jake headed to his car, Abby walked up the steps to her porch. Marcus watched with relief as he backed out of the driveway. 

Abby laid on her back with her hands covering her face as she told herself all the reasons this thing with Marcus was stupid. She heard her phone beep, alerting her that she had a message. She was sure it was Jake. Instead Marcus's picture appeared in a tiny bubble. The butterflies in her stomach began to move wildly.   
'I can't stop wanting you.'  
Her heart beat faster.  
'When, Marcus?'  
He half thought she wouldn't respond. He let out a breath of relief when his phone notified him of the response.   
'Tomorrow night?'  
'Here? At seven?'  
Marcus grinned that she was as eager for him as he was for her. That sent his blood coursing.  
'Hotel Polis. Less chance of being caught. We wouldn't want Jake to drive by your house and see that I'm there.'  
'Let me know room number when you do.'  
Marcus knew he would reserve one before he went to bed. Abby knew it roo.  
'Ok..and Abby?'  
'Yes?'  
'I can't stop thinking of how it felt to have your skin against my lips.'  
Abby blushed in the privacy of her bedroom.   
'And I can't stop thinking of how it felt to have you in my mouth.'  
Marcus moaned  
'Fuck.......I'll see you tomorrow.'

To be continued.......

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to comment:)


	4. Chapter 4

Abby was standing at the nurse’s station, halfheartedly listening to Jackson as he talked about some plans that he had with Nathan. Abby was busy thinking of her own plans, the kind she couldn’t share with anyone except for Marcus himself.   
“Abby?”   
Her eyes shot up to Jackson who was looking at her comically.   
“You alright?”   
“Yes, Jackson. I was just thinking about a patient.”   
He gave a slight nod.   
“Well, if it is about the kid in 14, you are in luck. I have just updated his records. Computer will have it when you go in.”   
Abby gave Jackson a kind smile.   
“You are always on top of things. I’ll head there now.”   
She turned to leave as Jackson picked up a ringing phone. Abby was almost to room fourteen when all hell broke loose.  
“Abby!”   
Her cellphone begun to ring as she turned her body to look at Jackson.   
“School shooting! Wounded headed in including two officers.”   
Her heart immediately fell, in a sprint she headed to the elevator with two interns following her lead.   
“I’m headed down to the E.R.!”   
“Jake will be fine! Don’t worry.”   
The elevator ride seemed to take too long to reach the bottom floor. Everyone was tense. A school shooting meant that small children could be involved. Abby was grateful she didn’t have children, she wasn’t sure her heart could handle something of that magnitude. And the truth was, she was confused, she hadn’t thought of Jake until Jackson yelled out his name. No, her heart was on Marcus and she needed to know if he was alright. Abby couldn’t even text any of them, not in this situation and not when it was their job, like hers to save lives and they were in the thick of it.   
After what seemed like an eternity the doors open and Abby rushed out. There were no wounded, not yet. They stood and they waited.   
“Abby! We have reports of five children hit, two police officers. All are on their way here.”   
Her heart was beating wildly.  
“Harper, do we know the names of the officers?”   
“No, not yet. One woman and one man. That is all I know for now in regard to them. “   
“Thank you.”   
Suddenly they heard the sirens, around the corner came the first ambulance. Two emt’s jumped out.   
“Six year old female, hit in the right shoulder, lost a lot of blood.”   
Abby immediately claimed the first patient.   
“Parent’s on the way, gentleman?”   
The dark haired young man looked at Abby.   
“Yes, the school called. Child’s name is Julie Carter. She is O positive. Good vitals.”   
“Thank you, I will take it from here.”   
As Abby rushed with the patient to surgery, she heard more sirens getting close. Silently she prayed that her friends were safe. 

The hour of meeting Marcus came and went. Abby didn’t even leave surgery on young Julie Carter until seven fifteen. She rubbed the back of her neck as she headed to find someone who would know how all the victims of the shooting were. Harper looking tired and depleted was sitting in the lobby, her head back against the wall.   
“Harper, are you alrgiht?”   
The girl with blood shot eyes looked up at her.   
“Yes, just exhausted, one of the police officers didn’t make it.”   
Abby’s heart fell.  
“Who didn’t make it?”   
Harper looked up at Abby with wide eyes.   
“Oh, I’m sorry. Jake is fine. He called in fact and said he needed to sleep. However, he said you could feel free to go by and wake him up.”   
“What officer didn’t make it?”   
“Collins, a rookie.”   
Abby shook her head as she removed the colorful bandana from her head that she always wore during surgery.   
“And no other police officers were brought in?”   
Harper shrugged  
“Just Kane.”   
Abby’s head shot up.   
“He’s hurt?”  
She had already turned her body to head to emergency.   
“What room, Harper?”   
“E five.”   
Harper didn’t have a chance to say anything else as Abby once again sprinted to her destination. By the time she reached the cloth divider, she moved it and stepped into the room.   
“I am fine! Stop!”   
Marcus was looking up at Callie who was obviously worried.   
“I just need to hear from a doctor that you are fine.”   
“I’m a doctor.”   
Marcus’s eyes shot up to her. Abby tried not to let her relieved eyes rest on him. He was sitting up and talking. If she stared at him too long, Callie would know exactly what was on her friend’s mine.   
“Marcus, can you tell me what happened?”   
He shook his head.   
“I got hit in the ribs and well you know protocol when it comes to the force, I have to have a doctor check me out.”   
“Callie, can you give me a moment with him please?”   
Her friend’s dark eyes shot on to Abby.   
“I can’t be here so that you can check his ribs?”   
Abby shrugged.   
“If I made the rules, I would let you stay. However, I don’t. I will have to check him out privately.”   
Callie let out a small groan directed towards the ceiling.   
“I guess. I’m not mad at you, I just don’t want to leave him when he is hurt.”   
“I am fine.”   
Marcus said it a little to sternly as Callie grabbed her handbag.   
Abby waited until Callie was out of the room before she lifted up Marcus’s robe.   
“At this point all my clothes should have been off, Abs.”   
Quickly she looked from him and to the curtain before looking back at him again.   
“Shhhh.”   
He rolled his eyes.   
“You and I both know that she is already on her phone talking to at least one other person and telling them and this ordeal has affected her…..”   
Marcus reached up with his right hand and moved her hair behind her ear before letting his fingers graze her neck.   
“What I want to know Abby is if you are alright.”   
Abby had been staring down at the skin that was already bruising. Her eyes locked on his as the heat of his fingers coursed through her skin.   
“I’m just glad you are alright.”   
“That isn’t really an answer, Abby.”   
She nodded.   
“I managed to save a little girls arm. She almost lost it.”   
He gave her a small grin as he leaned his head back against the pillows.   
“I think you could save anyone.”   
Abby gave a sad little laugh.   
“Marcus, I can’t imagine what you went through today at that school.”   
She watched as his eyes took on a sadness that she had never witnessed him having quite like that.   
“It was awful. It really was…….  
Just as he was about to continue, Callie came back in.   
“All finished?”   
Abby pulled down his gown even though Callie had seen Marcus in all his glory more than once. Callie stepped back to Marcus as Abby washed her hands and then shoved her hands in the pockets of her white coat.   
“Marcus, unfortunately there isn’t much we could do for broken ribs. I am going to send you to x-ray to make sure we know just how many are broken. However, I do suspect that you have broken two. I will write you a prescription for pain pills. I think Norco will do the trick. I am giving you an off work slip for the next couple of weeks and I will only release you to work if you do light duty.”   
Callie laughed knowing full well that Marcus would never agree to that. Abby didn’t think so either.   
“With that, I will leave you two. The nurse will be in with your prescription and a tech will take you to x-ray shortly. Goodnight.”   
“Goodnight.”   
Marcus and Callie said it in unison which for some reason annoyed Abby half out of her mind. Another moment of jealously she was sure. Mostly because she was sure that Callie would not take no for an answer when she would demand to take care of Marcus. 

Abby felt depleted by the time she walked into her house. Sadly, she threw her keys on the coffee table as she made her way to the fridge, she grabbed a cold bottle of beer and took a long slow slip as she thought about how sad the day had turned out to be and if she was being honest……She was disappointed that right now she wasn’t naked and in the arms of one Marcus Kane.   
In the bathroom, she took off her clothes and let them fall to the floor. Tonight, she would crawl into bed naked and fall straight asleep. First though she would take a long hot shower. It felt good to let the water cascade over her body as Abby closed her eyes and tried without much success to not think of Marcus with Callie beside him.   
Once clean and her muscles feeling a bit more relaxed, Abby wrapped a large grey towel around her body and headed to the bedroom. Just as she was about to slip into bed, she heard the loud knock at the door. She supposed most women would be scared at a knock at close to midnight. Abby wasn’t one of those women, not when most of her friends worked at either the hospital or on the force.   
Abby moved through the house and looked out the peep hole. Marcus stood on her doorstep. Slowly she opened the door.   
“Marcus?”   
He gave a slight shrug.   
“I know I should want to be with Callie after today….I know.”   
Abby stared at him silently for only a moment.   
“Come in, Marcus.”   
He took sight of her in the towel and had to catch his breath.   
“I had to come here. I had to come to you, Abby.”   
She slowly nodded her head.   
“I’m so glad you are alright, Marcus.”   
He heard the emotion in her voice as he closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around her. 

To be continued……..


	5. Chapter 5

Abby easily let herself be swallowed up into Marcus’s arms once he had closed the distance between them. His scent enveloped her, woodsy and perfect. Abby inhaled, letting the scent take up residence on her skin. Instead of nestling her face into the crook of his neck, Abby backed away from him.  
“Marcus, why aren’t you with Callie?”  
Although she had originally wanted to keep her back to him, slowly she turned to look at him.  
Marcus looked like a man depleted and why wouldn’t he be? His day had been horrendous. His broad shoulders were slumped, one leg slightly bent, Abby was sure to ease the pressure on his ribs. His head was facing down while his tired eyes were cast up in order to hold her gaze. When he spoke, it was done quietly.  
“I should be with her. I should want to be with her at any rate. I should be there right now tucked safely in her arms…..”  
She only stared at him as he let the words trail off into nothingness. Abby swallowed hard before speaking.  
“Then why are you here and not there, surely you aren't here just because we…….”  
And this time it was her that allowed her words to disappear. They simply stared at each other in the silence. Seconds passed before Marcus chose to speak.  
“Yes, because tonight you were supposed to come to my room, tonight we were supposed to have shared a bed.”  
Abby looked down at her bare feet, not because she was embarrassed yet because she wanted to hide her disappointment at not having that moment with him.  
“It would be wrong to have that moment now……..”  
She couldn’t even finish the sentence.  
“It wouldn’t have been wrong before, is that what you are saying?”  
Her eyes shot up to his, he was exhausted, she could see it and yet anger flashed through him as he watched her.  
“I’m saying that today there was a school shooting, if we did this now, I would be taking advantage of you.”  
He laughed as he stepped a few steps closer to her and yet he didn’t touch her. His eyes were intent and passionate.  
“Abby, I need you. Please. I need to touch you. We don’t even have to have sex but it is you I need to fall asleep with, please, let me put my head on your chest and fall asleep.”  
The rise of emotion that filled her seemed to shock her.  
“Don’t you think that would make this so much more than what it is?”  
“I know I should care about that right now, Abby. I don’t though. Please let me strip and take a shower and fall asleep naked against you.”  
“Marcus……”  
He closed the short distance between them. He gently took her face in his hands.  
“I know how grateful you are that I am alive. Abby……..please.”  
His fingers slid from her face to her shoulder and down her arm until her hand was in his. Slowly he lifted her hand to his chest.  
“Feel my heart beating, Abby? I am alive. Let me show you I’m alive by keeping your arms around me all night while I fall asleep against you. Don’t you want me here, Abby?”  
Abby really couldn’t help it as she laid her lips against his and kissed him gently.  
“This was only supposed to be sex. We can’t fall, Marcus.”  
He nodded slowly as he continued to give her gentle pecks while they spoke in whispers.  
“If it is bad now, imagine how bad it is going to be once we actually have sex.”  
Marcus gave her a grin as he said it.  
“Tonight, you need to go home, Marcus. Tomorrow night if I am still what you want…..”  
He shook his head.  
“What a stupid comment, you will always be what I want.”  
He turned and headed for the door, Abby caught up to him quickly and stepped in front of him. She stood on her tip toes, taking his face in her hands.  
“Kiss me goodnight, Marcus.”  
Their dark eyes rested on one another and then Marcus dipped his head and kissed her as if he would never get another moment ever again. As much as Abby knew he needed rest, the feel of his tongue against hers seemed to set something inside her completely ablaze. It took only a moment before their breathing escalated, Marcus let his lips find the most tender spots of her neck. Abby let her hands slip beneath his t-shirt, the warmth of his skin making her heart beat wildly. It only took a moment for Abby to pull his shirt up, Marcus gritted his teeth in pain as they pulled it over his head. He ignored the pull against him that caused the pain in his ribs and instead kissed her again.  
Marcus’s hands reached for the towel, his eyes taking the time to look into hers as he slowly reached for where her towel was wrapped together, he pulled slightly as the cotton material fell around her feet on the floor.  
His eyes moved over her, a small growl finding its way through his lips before he gripped her hips and pulled her to him for their most breath-taking kiss yet. Abby bent her knees causing both of them to move to the floor where Marcus laid over her, Abby reached for his belt buckle, pulling greedily at it until she was able to undo it, they pulled him free from his pants. Marcus tugged until the pants were down to his thighs.  
Abby and Marcus had wanted to take the time to see each other’s bodes, to get to know the other. Yet, after today’s events, Marcus needed to prove to Abby that he was alive and she needed that from him too. Marcus pushed himself into her, a moan escaping him as he cupped her face and rested his forehead against hers, his hips not moving, he just wanted to stay buried deep inside her.  
“I had to be inside you, Abby. Oh God, I needed to be in you.”  
His breathing rapid as he stayed tucked between her legs. Abby kept her hands on his neck, holding him, enjoying this moment so much more than she should have been. It was only supposed to be sex and right now it seemed like so much more than that.  
“I’m so glad you are alright. I was so scared, Marcus.”  
He gazed down at her, he gave her a small kiss before he slowly moved his hips. Abby gasped at the perfect way he moved his body. Her moan seemed to move through every fiber of his being. They were ready to give into the feeling.  
The knock at the door shocked them.  
“Abby!”  
They stared at each other wide eyed.  
“That’s Callie!”  
Marcus slid out of her and stood, reaching for her hand and helping her up.  
“You get it, say I was getting in the shower when you arrived.”  
He grabbed Abby and kissed her hard before releasing her. Abby ran down the hall and quickly put on a nightgown. She leaned against her bedroom wall, one hand on her chest as she tried to get her breathing under control. It had felt so good to have Marcus inside her, the weight of his body on top of hers and damn if she wasn’t more sexually frustrated than she had ever been in her entire life. Right now, they should be bringing each other’s bodies to new heights. Instead they were on opposite sides of the house and his girlfriend had just shown up. 

Marcus opened the door and gave Callie a tired smile. She was smiling back at him as she stepped into the house.  
“I thought you were going to go home and go to bed.”  
Abby came walking down the hall and back into view.  
“Callie, is everything alright?”  
“I was driving home from the station, I stopped by to check on everyone and was going to go to Marcus’s to check up on him. As you know, your house is on the way. I saw his truck.”  
Abby felt her heart speed up.  
“I was on my way home and wanted to be sure Abby was alright. Jake was already home and sleeping.”  
Callie smiled at him as she put one hand on his chest.  
“You are the best. I am so glad that I am dating someone like you. Isn’t he the best, Abby?”  
Abby smiled.  
“You are dating a hell of a guy.”  
Marcus eyed Abby before he looked back at Callie.  
“Let me walk you out. You have to be at work at the second shift.”  
“You’re leaving too, right?”  
“In a minute. I have to talk to Abby about something.”  
Callie laughed before pointing at Abby.  
“Abby, you are the only woman that I would trust near him. Goodnight.”  
She hugged her friend, so unaware that just moments before Abby and Marcus had been holding on to one another. 

Abby stayed at the front door and watched as Marcus walked Callie down to her car. It should have been earth shattering to watch a man she had just laid on the floor and almost had sex with in these arms of another woman. Instead Abby watched as Callie tried snuggling into Marcus. Abby watched with her adrenaline running, she seemed to want the man standing at the curb more than ever. It shouldn’t give her a rush, the sneakiness of it all. He glanced up at her as Callie pulled away from the house with a last wave.  
Marcus and Abby stared at one another as he slowly with his hands in his pockets, took steps towards her. She took a step back and into the house as Marcus took a step inside. Marcus pushed the door shut without looking at it.  
He crossed so quickly to her, his hands immediately moving to the hem of her nightgown as he bent at his knees in order to pull the sleeping attire up her body and over her head leaving her naked before him for the second time that night.  
“It felt so good, Marcus.”  
Her eyes were lust ridden as she looked up at him. Marcus moaned just by her words alone. He kissed her hard, dragging her lower lip through his teeth. Abby reached for his hand and pulled him and quickly led him down the hall to her room. She could hear the sound of his belt buckle coming undone while her back was still to him, the thought of him undressing would have been enough to make her body come alive if she wasn't already on fire.  
He kissed her shoulder as they came to a stop, his arms encircling her as his hands found her breasts, Abby’s head falling back against him. His thumbs ran over her already tight nipples. Marcus dragged his teeth along her neck, making her gasp.  
“Make me feel that way again, Marcus.”  
One hand encircled her elbow as he turned her around quickly. They kissed with everything they had before he pulled her to the bed. The sight of Abby’s body naked on the bed before him was enough to make him forget that he had originally showed up to her house tired and ready to sleep. All he wanted to do now was to delve back into her and feel the same way they had moments before.  
Marcus positioned himself over her again as Abby wrapped her legs around him. Immediately he slipped back into her. This time he didn’t stop, no, this time he slammed into her again and again. He watched the way her breasts moved as they found a perfect rhythm.  
Abby gripped the sheets as she began to yell out to him, he followed her commands. He moaned, yelling out her name as he pushed into her over and over again. It was clear that this time would be hard and quick as they both got close to reaching their climax.  
Abby couldn’t speak as she began to feel the orgasm course through her. Only gasps and stutters escaped her as she reached out for Marcus. The feel of her hands on him was enough to make him almost fall over the edge. He didn’t allow it, not yet. Instead he waited until Abby’s center clenched around him as a last guttural moan escaped her lips in the sound of his name. Marcus followed with one final hard thrust, they collapsed against one another. 

To be continued……..


	6. Chapter 6

Marcus was breathing hard, trying to catch his breath as he glanced at Abby who was doing the same. She looked at him seriously.   
“You need to go, Marcus.”   
His smile faded quickly as he propped himself up on his forearm.   
“You want me to leave?”   
Abby kept her dark tired eyes on him. She turned her body towards his.   
“Marcus, we agreed that this was a onetime thing.”   
He shook his head as he reached out with his left hand and pushed her hair away from her face.   
“Abby, you agreed to that, I didn’t agree to that.”   
It would be easy to get lost in the way he was staring at her, his eyes that told a little bit of everything. She forced herself to look away and instead her eyes fell on his chest. There seemed to be nowhere to look that wasn’t Marcus Kane.   
“Marcus?”   
He gave her a quick grin as he traced his fingers down her side, she sighed before speaking.   
“You can’t keep touching me.”   
“Yes, I can.”   
He leaned over and kissed her hip.   
“Marcus…..”   
She almost felt disappointed when he actually stopped and instead stared at her.   
“Do you really not want this to happen again?”   
Abby could hardly help it as she cupped his face in her hands.   
“Do you think it is wise to continue?”   
“I think that we tried to get rid of the itch and the truth is that we haven’t even touched the surface yet. Come on, Abby. This is not even close to be finished yet. You and I are going to continue this because there is no way I can just walk away from this thing with us already.”   
Marcus watched as her eyebrow shot up as she stared back at him.   
“This is not a good idea, Marcus. You aren’t thinking correctly.”   
He laughed as he pulled her against him.   
“Can you say no right now, Abby? Can you say that you don’t want me when I am this hard and this ready for you?”   
Her hands seemed to have a mind of their own as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and held on to him. She closed her eyes as she tried to hold on to her sanity. Then his mouth was on her collarbone as he dragged his teeth along her skin and she seemed to forget what needed to be said. Her hand slipped into his hair.   
“Do you want me to stop?”   
He sucked her neck at the pulse point, something he learned less than an hour ago and something he planned to experiment with. Marcus slid his hand up her leg and then gripped her thigh. Abby dragged his earlobe into her mouth, the sound of his moan seemed to shoot through her body. He was still on his side when he pulled her leg around his waist. Marcus gripped her ass as he pushed himself into her. This time he took time to watch her face as her mouth fell open in pleasure as he pushed deep within her.   
“Abby…….”   
He couldn’t finish talking as he momentarily forgot how to speak as he moved his hips in order to bring her the kind of pleasure that only one person could bring another. Marcus could feel as her fingers dug into his back, one of her hands slid down and gripped his hip as if to guide him in faster.   
“This is so good, Marcus.”   
He kissed her, their tongues moving against each other as their hips followed the movements.   
Abby allowed herself to watch the way his jaw clenched, how the vein in his neck pulsed wildly as he focused on moving in and out of her. Marcus was sexy, there was never any denying it. This moment though was so much more than that, the way he looked, the sound of his voice, the scent of his cologne was more than good, it was perfection and she was sure she would never have enough of Marcus. Her hand on his back slowly moved into his hair, the fingers gliding along his scale. He moaned her name as she did it.   
“Marcus, you are so beautiful.”   
And she meant it, he was everything that she would ever want to stare at for no other reason at all than just to do it.   
“I’m nothing compared to you, Abby.”   
His eyes were on her as he said it and Abby knew that he meant the words. Abby didn’t want to feel anything, not when it came to Marcus. She simply wanted him to make her feel this way, to make her feel like her entire world revolved around this one moment when chills moved through her entire body.   
“Marcus……..”   
He stared down to where their bodies were joined. That small move made her stomach flip, it was as if every moved he made set her heart beating faster. He moaned loudly as he bit his bottom lip.   
“Abby……”   
The sight of him closing his eyes as he tried to hang on, only accelerated the feeling that was overcoming her. Abby’s hips smacked up to his as the moment began to shoot through her.   
“I need to cum, Marcus!”   
“Come on, Abby.”   
The words came from him in a grunt as his breathing continued to escalate. Marcus slid his hand in between them and flicked her, that was all it took for her to shout his name. He immediately moved his hips faster and harder. Abby held his body against hers as she watched his pleasure ridden face and listened as he said things she couldn’t make out. This time he collapsed with his head on her chest as they came back to earth.   
“Marcus, promise you’ll leave in a couple hours.”   
He smiled against her breasts as he thought about her words.   
“So, you don’t want me to leave?”   
She knew he was laughing at her. Abby didn’t care, she simply wanted to continue holding him against her. Abby took the time to rub her hands down Marcus’s back.   
“You could have died today.”   
He nodded slowly against her chest.   
“I’m sorry you were scared. There is something I don’t understand though.”   
“Hmmm?”   
She waited for him to respond. He took a deep breath before he did.   
“What I don’t understand, Abby is why you were so scared if this is just sex.”   
Abby stared down at the top of his head before she spoke.   
“It is just sex, Marcus. We have known each other for a long time. If we had never had this moment, it still would have been hard to lose you.”   
“So, sex has nothing to do with it?”   
“Marcus, It is only sex and this was the only night. Please, don’t do or say anything that will make this feel like something it isn’t.”   
“As if us holding each other isn’t anything? Don’t answer that, Abby. Just don’t. Today was hard and I just want to lay here for a little bit.”   
Abby stopped talking as she continued to rub his back. Tomorrow she would throw herself back into her relationship with Jake as Marcus went back to loving Callie. Again, she kissed the top of his head, trying to hold onto to his scent.   
“I will always be grateful for this one night.”   
“Me too. I’ll never forget this moment. Abby?”   
“Yes?”   
“You are what I thought about today, when I was scared about whether or not I survived, it was you that I thought about.”   
He kissed her breast, leaving his lips there as she thought about his words and held his head against her. Abby didn’t want to let go and she didn’t, not even when he rested his cheek against her chest and not when his breathing regulated and he drifted off to sleep. 

Abby didn’t sleep, the emotions in her chest were raw. Yes, this pain was what she deserved for doing what she had done to Jake and to Callie. She and Marcus deserved everything that was coming to them. Abby would force Marcus away from her once he woke up and she would never give into this moment again. No, Abby would put as much distance between herself and this night and hope that Karma would forget to come after her and the man who was nestled against her. 

Marcus woke as the sun was starting to come through the window casting a soft blue glow into Abby’s bedroom. He leaned up to look at her, Abby looked as if she had been crying. Marcus wondered if she had a bad dream during the night. He rose quietly, grunting as his ribs protested. The truth was that he didn’t want to leave, he wanted to crawl back into bed and curl back into her body. Instead he kept his word and got dressed so that he could go back home to his own lonely bed. It took him longer than normal to dress with the pain he was in.  
Marcus stared down at her, the way her hair fell around her face and over her shoulders. The way her body showed signs of the kiss marks that he had left on her body. He felt proud when he saw the way that she looked now. Marcus leaned down despite the pain and placed a soft kiss to her lips before he turned with his jacket in his hand and left Abby’s home. 

Abby was awake when he moved off of her, she couldn’t look at him. If there was anything that Abby knew about this moment, it was going to hurt to watch him walk away. So, instead she pretended to be asleep and kept her eyes closed. The feel of his lips against hers was shocking in the sweetest of ways. Once he had walked away, Abby waited until Marcus had started his truck and drove away before she got up and locked the front door. 

Marcus showered quickly and then carefully climbed into bed. He had three missed calls from Callie, no doubt that she had wanted to come over last night after catching him at Abby’s house. Looking back, it had probably been a bad idea to leave his phone inside the console of his truck. However, Abby had been the only thing on his mind at the time.   
He ran his hand down his face and wondered how all of this had begun to happen anyway. What he knew about Abby was that she was a smart woman and yet their bodies had stolen any sense they owned completely away. The decision to let his body take over had probably not been the best idea either of them had ever had. Only now they had gone through with it and Marcus Kane knew without a doubt that he would never be the same again. He wondered if Abby was feeling the same way. 

Abby soaked in the tub, letting the water sore her well fucked body. The lavender scent swirled around her. If there was one thing she knew for sure, it was that she would miss the scent of Marcus attached to her skin. They had given into to their most secret desires and she would have to keep all that she felt safely tucked away. Abby stood up and rinsed off and then stepped from the shower and wrapped a fresh towel around her.   
Her bedroom still smelled of him. Slowly she stripped her bed of the sheets, only her mind would hold the memory of the moments she had shared with Marcus. Abby wondered if it would get easier over time because right now all she could think about was the man that invaded her thoughts that used to be so rational. She missed him and what she didn’t want to do was miss the man who was the only person in the world who knew what had taken place the night before. Abby put fresh sheets on the bed before she laid back on it and fell into a deep sleep where her dreams were of Marcus, the man she could never ever touch again. 

To be continued………


	7. Chapter 7

‘I need to see you again.’  
The message came in less than forty-eight hours after Abby heard Marcus leave her bed. Abby stared at it as she sat in her office at the hospital. The truth was that she hadn’t been able to think of anything else since she had willingly given herself to him. Thoughts ran through her mind, the way he kissed her and touched her.  
The problem was that Abby really had intended it to be a onetime thing. The logical side of Abby told her to ignore the message and yet the woman part of Abby picked up the phone only moments later.  
‘When?’  
Marcus heard the phone go off and was anxious to check it. Only an elderly woman was adamant to tell him how she knew the man who robbed a liquor store. Marcus didn’t think she knew the robber at all, no, she was a lonely old woman who just needed to talk. So, instead he smiled at her and offered her a cup of coffee, she gladly accepted. As Marcus excused himself to go get her a cup in the department kitchen, he checked his phone, he wrote back quickly.  
‘Tonight?’  
Abby felt her heart speed up at just the thought of being close to him again  
‘I’ll be done at six.’  
She slid the phone back in her pocket and went about making her rounds before she was to call it a night. Her phone beeped almost immediately. Abby stopped outside door sixteen and stared down at her phone.  
‘Don’t forget about our date tonight, baby. It has been awhile. Can’t wait to see you. I love you.’  
Abby had completely forgotten that she was supposed to see Jake. She let out a small groan before typing quickly.  
‘Emergency at hospital. I’m sorry. Saturday night?’  
She supposed deep down that she should have canceled on Marcus and gone out with Jake. Only she figured she could have one more night with Marcus then she could move past this thing that Marcus seemed to make her feel. Abby took a deep breath as she tried to steady her ever speeding up heartrate.  
‘Seven thirty at the Polis hotel? I’ll text you with the room number.’ 

 

It was over thirty minutes later when Abby finally had a second to see the message from him. There was also one from Jake.  
‘Figured as much. Miss having a relationship with an actual person.’  
A message from Abby to Jake went out first.  
‘I’m sorry. Love you.’  
Then of course she sent one out to Marcus as well.  
‘I can’t get there quick enough.’  
Marcus smiled behind his coffee cup when he read it.  
“Hey, want to grab dinner tonight?”  
Jake had stepped up behind him. Marcus turned the phone over and laid it on the desk before he spun around in his office chair to face his friend. Guilt ran through him.  
“I wish I could.”  
His friend looked at him quizzically.  
“Hot date with Callie?”  
Marcus took a much longer sip than necessary while he thought of what to say.  
“I’m actually going to go and see my mom. Mother son time and all that.”  
Now he was using his mother to lie. He wanted to groan at all these little lies, soon they would add up. Jake nodded.  
“That’s good man. I had a date with Abby and she canceled.”  
Marcus’s head shot up as he made eye contact with his friend.  
“You had a date with Abby?”  
“Yep. Once again doctor duties popped up. It is getting so old.”  
“You knew that was her job, Jake.”  
Jake nodded.  
“I did but you know when we started dating, she was at least available. Lately it is one thing after the other.”  
Marcus swallowed hard.  
“Cut her a break man, she’s only human.”  
“Well, I know I will see her Saturday. Don’t forget we all have plans this weekend.”  
“I haven’t forgotten. Callie won’t let me forget it.”  
Jake pulled his keys from his pocket.  
“I’m going to take off. I will see you tomorrow.”  
“Have a good night.”  
Marcus watched him leave, he would have felt worse and yet the thought of Abby held it at bay. 

Abby rushed home and showered, she threw of a turquoise sun dress and sandals and quickly redid her makeup before she headed back to her car and drove the forty-five minutes to where Marcus would be waiting for her. When her phone rang and the caller I.D. showed that it was Callie, Abby ignored the call so she wouldn’t have to lie.  
It had been years since Abby had been in the hotel. A message from Marcus had read that he was in room 509. Her stomach had butterflies while she carried her small overnight bag and headed towards the elevator. It felt like an eternity as she waited for the elevator to arrive and even longer for her to carry her to the fifth floor.  
She took a deep breath just before knocking. Abby imagined him looking though the peep hole, so she found herself staring at her feet, only looking up when the door opened. It took everything she had not to gasp with pleasure when she saw him, Marcus wore nothing except for a white towel around his waist. Her eyes greedily wandered over him.  
“Hi.”  
She said it in a mere whisper. He smiled at her reaction.  
“Hello yourself, Abby.”  
Marcus reached out with one hand, taking hers and gently pulling her into the room. The door closed automatically behind him.  
“I didn’t have time to take a shower after work. I just packed my bag and headed here. Wasn’t even sure if I would get one in before you arrived.”  
“I think you managed fine.”  
The sound of her voice was not something he missed, it was tinged with sexual need. He gave her his smirk which made her blush. He watched as she dropped her bag besides his on the small table. Abby tried to look anywhere else but him, she had seen his naked body before and still it was almost too much to handle.  
“I would have managed better if you had been with me.”  
Her eyes looked up into his.  
“I was supposed to see Jake tonight.”  
He nodded before turning from her and walking to the bar. Marcus had known Abby for long enough to know just how she liked her liquor. The ice clinked in the glasses as he made two drinks. When he spoke, he did it without looking at her.  
“I know. You didn't have to cancel on him in order to see me, Abby. However, if I am being one hundred percent honest with you, I am glad you did.”  
Abby walked slowly towards him as he handed out one of the glasses to her. His dark eyes on hers.  
“I should be honest, Marcus. I didn’t cancel on him on purpose.”  
One of his eyebrows shot up.  
“You accidentally canceled on him?”  
A slow nod came from Abby as she let out a small laugh.  
“Well, I completely forgot I was supposed to see him. Then you messaged and I had said yes to that…..so……”  
He grinned at her.  
“So, you wanted to be with me more?”  
Abby cocked her head.  
“I had forgotten about Jake.”  
A wide smile spread across his face, the smile that was so dashing and that had always made her heart skip a beat. Marcus kept his eyes on her as he took a long slow drink before setting his glass down. He closed the distance between them and wrapped one arm around her as he meshed his chest against hers.  
“If you hadn’t wanted to see me more, you would have messaged me back to cancel.”  
Abby thought of arguing with him until he nestled his face against her as he kissed her just below her ear, making her let out a small moan as she wrapped an arm around his bare shoulders.  
“Admit it, Abby. He can’t make you feel the way I can make you feel.”  
He pulled her earlobe between his teeth making her moan loudly.  
“I just want you to admit it. Has he ever made you cum the way I do?”  
“Marcus…..”  
“I need you out of this dress, Abby. I can’t stop thinking of the other night, it was so good and yet there was only one problem.”  
“Wh….what?”  
Abby was barely able to stutter out the words as his hands moved over her body as he whispered into her ear.  
“I didn’t get to taste you, Abby and tasting you is what I’ve wanted to do for far too long.”  
Marcus took the glass from her free hand and set it on the table before moving back to where she stood and knelt before her. Abby was powerless to do anything other than watch him as he slid the sandals off each one of her feet.  
“Pull your dress off, Abby.”  
He was staring up at her. Abby waited only a moment before following his simple command. She pulled the dress over her head, revealing the light pink lacey bra and underwear. Marcus moaned as he looked over her, his hands sliding up and down her legs.  
“Perfection, Abby. There is no word good enough to tell you how magnificent I think you are.”  
He leaned forward and kissed her knee, he moved his lips up and down her shin as he stayed bowed before her. Marcus leaned all the way forward and kissed the top of her foot. Abby gasped at the sweetness of it.  
“I haven’t stopped thinking of you, Marcus. I’ve tried so hard to forget.”  
He kissed her high on the thigh as he spoke against her skin.  
“You are not a woman I could ever get out of my system, Abby. The feel of you is too intense, too remarkable.”  
Marcus felt it as she slipped one of her hands into his hair.  
“This has to be the last time.”  
The words sounded anguished as she spoke them.  
“Can you really just let me walk out that door and never have me touch you again?”  
“No, I crave you, Marcus. How can it ever be over?”  
He moaned as he kissed her through the underwear, Abby watched him with a hunger she never felt before.  
“Please take me, Marcus.”  
He growled before standing up, Marcus stared at her only for a moment before he bent at the waist and picked her up. Abby encircled his neck with her arms, she couldn’t take her eyes off his as he carried her to the large bed. He laid her down gently.  
“If you try and I know you will try to make this the last time, Abby. I want to make it clear that tonight is a night that you will never be able to forget.”  
Abby reached up and touched his face as he leaned over her. It was then that he kissed her, a sweet slow kiss. Only after he had kissed her until she was breathless did he let his lips roam all over her body that was the most beautiful, sexiest thing he had ever seen.  
“I want you, Abby.”  
Abby reached for him, hanging on to Marcus as he lavished attention on stomach. He smiled every time she moaned or whispered his name. She tasted good, he couldn’t get enough of the way her skin felt against his lips.  
“Feels so good.”  
Her head was pressed hard into the pillow as she writhed beneath him.  
“Take off your bra, Abby.”  
Once again, she was willing to do anything and everything he asked of her. Abby leaned up while he kept his mouth against her, never stopping the sweet pleasure that his lips and tongue brought to her most sensitive areas. Abby cast the material that felt all too offensive onto the floor before she collapsed back on the bed. He moved up her body and captured her already erect nipple into his mouth as his free hand caressed her other breast.  
“Oh God, Marcus. Don’t stop.”  
And of course, he had no intention of ever stopping. Marcus had wanted this for so long and he wanted to enjoy every moment of pleasing the woman beneath him. He bit and sucked and licked his way to her other breast, giving that one just as much attention as the first. Her moans and gasps spurred him on as one of her hands dug into his back and the other clung to the back of his head. Marcus liked the way it felt to have her clutching on to him with desperate need.  
“I’ve thought about this all day, Abby. I need you.”  
He moved down her body, taking her skin into his mouth as he once again left marks where the first ones hadn’t yet healed. It turned him on, if Marcus hadn’t already been hard, he would be now. Marcus slipped his hands into her underwear and slowly pulled them down her long, tan, and sexy legs. He followed the underwear down with his mouth, being sure to kiss every spot possible.  
“Please, I need to feel you right now.”  
He moaned against her. The fact that she needed him as much as he needed her was intoxicating. Marcus didn’t answer, he simply continued to touch her and kiss her as he dropped the underwear to the floor.  
“Spread your legs for me.”  
He was staring at her eyes, Abby held his gaze as she moved her legs apart. When he growled it set everything in her on fire. His eyes moved to her center as he licked his lips, Abby moaned at the way he looked in that moment.  
“You're so sexy, Marcus.”  
Marcus cast his eyes on her once last time before he lowered himself to her center and dragged his tongue through her folds eliciting a sound from her that he had never heard from Abby before. His tongue moved from the tiny bud, down through the folds again and back up. He waited until her hips were rolling against him before sliding two fingers into her.  
“Marcus……..Oh God. Marcus. Please…..”  
He smiled as he licked and sucked and fingered her as her voice grew louder.  
“You taste good, Abby.”  
Her hips began to roll faster. Marcus slowed down the process, making her half crazy.  
“Don’t stop, baby. Please, don’t stop.”  
“I want your climax to be worked for.”  
His words alone moved through her. Abby’s head coming up momentarily to look at the sexiness of him before she allowed herself to fall back against the pillow.  
“Marcus, I’m so close. Please let me…..”  
“Let you what, Abby?”  
“Please let me cum. Please.”  
Marcus fingered her faster, as he wrapped his lips over the hard bud. Her voice carried loudly through the room, surely the neighbors heard her. The way she yelled making him feel like he could reach his own climax by nothing more than the sound of her voice. He didn’t stop, he continued to suck even when she came into his mouth.  
“Oh my God!”  
Her chest rose and fell as he moved over her in order to look down at her. Her eyes were full of a dark haze as she stared up into the eyes of Marcus.  
“I’ve wanted to do that for a long time.”  
She smiled up at him before she cupped his face.  
“For how long, Marcus?”  
He stared at her for a moment as he thought about whether or not to answer. In the end, of course he would answer her.  
“Do you remember the day you got stuck in the rain? That day you got locked out of your house and I had to come rescue you?"  
Abby nodded.  
“I remember.”  
A slow grin spread over his features.  
“You weren’t wearing a bra, you were cold and shivering. All I thought about was pulling those clothes off you, warming you up and then claiming you only after tasting you of course.”  
“I think you should claim me right now.”  
He shook his head.  
“I want to know something first, Abby.”  
She leaned up and kissed him, he gave into her and kissed her back. They didn’t stop until there was no choice except to pull apart.  
“I want to know, Abby.”  
“Know what?”  
“When did it start for you?”  
Abby blushed.  
“When I started thinking about you?”  
He nodded.  
“Please tell me.”  
“Remember the baseball game? The four of us were at the stadium. I glanced over and you had your arm around Callie. Your forearm was flexing as you massaged her shoulder. I know it sounds so stupid, but I liked the way your arm looked, so tan, so toned. Later that night you helped Jake move my television and I found myself staring at the way your muscles flexed in your back. Suddenly I couldn’t think of anything except for what it might be like to see you with your shirt off.”  
He was smiling down at her.  
“That was the night I thought I caught you staring.”  
Abby laughed.  
“Yes, I remember you catching me. Marcus?”  
“Hmm?”  
“Please, I need to feel you inside me.”  
Marcus smiled before kissing her again and then pushed into her. This time he moved fast and hard, giving her what she wanted. They watched each other as they enjoyed the feel of one another. He slammed into her. Her second orgasm came quickly and still he didn’t stop. Marcus couldn’t, not when he thought tonight might be the last time. He was determined to make her cum like she never had before. Abby was still coming down off the second one when he pushed one of her legs up, changing position so that he could move deeper within her. Abby moaned loudly as he began to bottom out in a way that Jake never had.  
“Fuck! Marcus!”  
He was moaning, his breathing highly accelerated as he held himself above her as he continued to slam his hips against hers.  
“Damn, Abby!”  
And then she reached her third climax of the night, the moment she came beneath him, Marcus poured into her as the strongest orgasm he ever had shot through his entire body. 

To be continued……….


	8. Chapter 8

Jake came in to the precinct with a box of doughnuts and sat them down in a rush. Marcus was standing in the doorway to the chief’s office.  
“I don’t know, Kane. I just know you need to get out there. In the last few weeks we have had a school shooting, two botched robberies and now a murder at the Plaza hotel. We must get this city under control. Get out there!”  
Marcus turned and came face to face with Jake.  
“I have to get out to the field. I’ll see you.”  
“Do you need some backup?”  
The chief overheard Griffin’s request.  
“Good idea, take Jake with you. Check in and keep me updated.”  
“You got it, Jaha.”  
Marcus normally wouldn’t mind the help. However, after last night the thought of being with Jake was a little too much. Especially when he could still feel Abby’s lips on his body and still feel her beneath him.  
“We can take the truck.”  
They walked out, Marcus could feel the tension setting in his shoulders.  
“Are you alright man?” Jake slid into the passenger seat as Marcus started the truck.  
“I didn’t sleep much last night.”  
That much was true. Abby had turned him on immensely and just when he thought he had his fill of her, she would smile or laugh or do nothing more than to allow her hair to brush his skin. That was all it took before he seemed to have no choice except to pull her body on top of his. Right now, he had to push the visions from his mind as Jake sat next to him.  
“Big night with your mom, huh?”  
Marcus glanced at his friend who was looking at him and smirking. It took him a minute to realize the lie he told about his mom.  
“We had dinner.”  
“She is doing well?”  
The question made Marcus think that he did indeed need to go and spend time with his mother. He had spoken to her every couple of days and yet a meal would be a good thing to share with her. In fact, Vera would be the only person on earth who would still love despite the scandalous relationship that he had with Abby.  
“My mom is one of a kind, that is for sure. What did you end up doing last night?”  
The man beside him shrugged.  
“I went home worked out, watched some television and went to bed. Didn’t sleep too well either.”  
“Maybe you worked out too late.”  
Marcus drove through the streets as he headed towards the hotel.  
“No, that isn’t it. I can’t stop thinking about Abby. Something is off with her. Just a few weeks ago we were doing so well and now I can hardly get her on the phone. I can’t even have a decent conversation with my fiancée.”  
“Maybe she had a lot going on at work right now?”  
Jake turned to look at Marcus.  
“I doubt very highly you would be feeling that way if Callie wasn’t putting out.”  
The guilt shot through Marcus. The truth was that he was the one who hadn’t been putting out for Callie. She hadn’t said much about it. Although even if she had Marcus wouldn’t have been paying much attention, in fact he hadn’t paid much attention to her at all as it was.  
“Maybe not. I haven’t seen too much of Callie as of late. Maybe just give Abby sometime.”  
“I was thinking of canceling our plans this weekend with you guys so that I can have some time with Abby. I would like to have her to myself for a while.”  
Jake could have said a lot of different things right then and Marcus probably would have been prepared for it. However, his most recent words sent a chill through the man who had spent his night being one with Abby. He had never been a jealous man and yet the thought of Abby being alone with Jake made Marcus feel confused.  
“I don’t know if canceling the plans behind her back is the best way to go.”  
Jake didn’t respond for a moment, instead he looked out the window as he seemed to be thinking about Marcus’s words. When he spoke, his voice was somewhat quiet.  
“I’ll see if I can talk to her about it to see what she thinks.”  
They pulled up in front of the Plaza. 

 

Abby ran on the treadmill, she was tired and a little sore from the night before. However, she knew she had to get a workout in. Her headphones sat atop her head as she let the music run through her head. There were three missed calls from Jake, two from Callie and none from Marcus.  
It was stupid to be sad over there being nothing from him. It was what it was. They made each other feel good. Abby liked sex with Marcus, no, she loved sex with him. It was remarkable.  
“Hey you!”  
Abby heard the voice even with the headphones on. Callie stepped on to the treadmill next to her. The woman with flawless skin and body smiled at Abby.  
“I thought you were at the precinct.”  
Callie shrugged as she started the machine.  
“I worked too many hours, I had to take some time. Decided to come work out. I called you to see if you wanted to join me.”  
Abby tried to think of something quickly.  
“I’m sorry. I hadn’t checked my phone until I got to the gym. I actually have some missed calls from Jake.”  
A big grin spread across Callie’s face.  
“It must be nice to know that you met the man that you are going to marry. When are we going to start planning, Abs?”  
A hard swallow moved down Abby’s throat.  
“I just don’t think I am ready to start planning yet.”  
Callie’s eyes which had been on her phone, getting ready to select work out music suddenly shot towards her best friend.  
“Are you having second thoughts?”  
“I don’t know. I wanted to get married. I really did. I just feel like it is all anyone wants to know. When is the wedding? Where will the wedding be? Have you picked out a dress? It just feels like a little too much some of the time. I thought I would enjoy getting married.”  
A small shrug moved through her shoulders as she looked over at Callie.  
“You really need to talk to Jake about this. If you are having second thoughts than you need to get it all out in the open.”  
There was so much more that could easily be spilled from Abby’s lips and yet the woman next to her was one of the last people in the world that she could share with. Callie was someone who at one point in time knew everything and anything. Now, was a different time. Abby couldn’t share the most recent events in her life with the woman next to her.  
There was so much that Abby needed to share with someone and yet there was no one to talk to about all that she was feeling. She desperately wanted to tell someone about how Marcus made her feel, the things he said and those secret girl talks about the way that he moved.  
“I will, I just need a little more time to think things over. Please don’t say anything.”  
“Your secrets are always safe with me.”  
And as if the guilt over what she had done wasn’t enough, Callie had to say those last words. It was as if Abby was pushing the knife even deeper into her best friends back. She tried not to think of Marcus as her friend staring at her while smiling.  
“Thank you, Callie. Tell me about what is going on with you.”  
Callie gave a sad little smile.  
“Well, I haven’t had any time with that handsome man of mine. He seems to always be busy with work.”  
Abby heard the words and yet couldn’t seem to find an appropriate way to respond. Instead she could only stare at her friend.  
“I don’t know, Abby. I miss him.”  
“I’m sorry you’re sad, Callie.”  
What else could she say to her friend? It felt like anything and everything that came out of her mouth would be a lie.  
“I’m seeing him this weekend when we all get together. I plan on getting him back to my place after. I miss him and I plan to show him.”  
Abby felt her heart drop. 

Marcus and Abby didn’t text each other or speak in any way since their night at the hotel. They thought about each other constantly and tried desperately to move on with their lives the way that each of them had promised that last morning together. They had showered, Marcus had stood behind her with his arms wrapped around her. His head in the crook of her neck as Abby held his arms in place. They had been quiet as they contemplated the fact that this would be their last moments together.  
Now Saturday was here and both were filled with anticipation.  
Marcus dressed casually in dark blue jeans, black t-shirt and black shoes. He sprayed the cologne that he knew from Abby’s admission that she loved him wearing. He should have been excited to see Callie and instead his mind was only on one woman.  
A few blocks over, Abby stepped out of the shower. She took her time putting on lotion and body spray. Abby slipped on blue jeans that hugged her slight curves perfectly. The peach t-shirt was perfect for her complexion. Abby curled her long locks before putting it up in a ponytail. As always, she only put on light makeup, that was something that Marcus had liked about her too. She sat down on the edge of the bed and put on her tennis shoes. 

The knock on the door sent her heart rushing. She wanted it to be him, to have a few minutes alone with the man that her mind couldn’t stop thinking about. Abby opened the door, her heart dropped, she came face to face with Jake.  
“Hey baby.”  
“Jake.”  
He gave her a confused look as he laughed.  
“You seem shocked to see me. You did remember I was coming, right?”  
Abby laughed a fake little laugh.  
“Of course, I knew.”  
He stepped in and kissed her cheek before whispering huskily.  
“Only you could look this good wearing jeans and a t-shirt. I can’t wait to get them off of you.”  
“Come on in.”  
“Hi love birds.”  
They looked down the walkway to see Callie and Marcus walking up the sidewalk. Abby couldn’t look anywhere except at Marcus. The way his hair was still damp and curled at the ends. His beard looked as if she had just trimmed it. He looked delicious, better than she could have imagined that he would. Damn! She wanted him. Would it ever end?  
His eyes were just as securely on her, he looked her up and down before his eyes met hers again. Abby knew what he was thinking.  
They all greeted one another before they stepped into Abby’s house.  
“Does anyone want a drink?”  
“I’ll have some of that wine you always have.”  
The words came from Callie.  
“Marcus, do you want anything?”  
Abby took the moment to reach out and touch his forearm as she asked the question. He gave her a slight nod before removing his arm and placing the hand on the small of her back. The heat of his fingers moved through her material quickly.  
“Scotch. Thank you.”  
He squeezed his fingers so that she would be sure to feel the pressure of his hand. There was so much more Marcus had wanted to do to her and with her. Reluctantly he removed his hand. Immediately she had missed his touch.  
They all ended up in the kitchen as she fixed the drinks. Their fingers touched briefly when she handed Marcus his glass, their eyes connecting.  
“So, I bought steaks for tonight. They are marinating in the fridge.”  
“I’ll be happy to barbecue them.” Jake walked up and put his arm around Abby as he said it.  
A flash of anger went through Marcus, he had to remind himself that he had no claim on Abby. Callie was watching him, he tore his eyes from Abby and Jake. He tried to ignore how Callie arched an eyebrow at him as if to ask him an unspoken question. Marcus moved across the kitchen and leaned back against the counter, he stared down into his drink, trying to keep his eyes averted.  
Why did she have to look so good in peach? Why did she have to look so good in every damn thing she wore? And while he was asking questions, why did she have to be so damn good when he was holding her in his arms? He wondered if she was thinking it too.  
“You know what I want? Some of that steak sauce we had at that restaurant in downtown that one weekend.”  
Jake nodded at Callie.  
“They have some at Raven’s mini store.”  
Callie smiled.  
“We have to go and get some.”  
“I’ll take you.”  
Jake was grabbing his keys. Abby couldn’t help herself as she glanced back at Marcus, quickly she looked back at Jake.  
“Could you get some ice too?”  
He grinned at his fiancée.  
“Of course. Ready, Callie?”  
She stepped around the corner and gave Marcus a quick kiss.  
“See you in a few.”  
Marcus and Abby were standing in the kitchen as Jake and Callie left, shutting the front door behind them. Marcus stood in the entry way to the kitchen and watched as Jake drove down the street, effectively leaving Marcus and Abby alone.  
Immediately his eyes moved to hers. Her dark eyes were on him, he said not a word as he slowly closed the distance between them. His chest was against hers as he backed her up into the pantry door. They said not a word, only the sound of their breathing radiated around them. His kiss was everything she had missed. One of her arms wrapped around his head as she tilted her hips up and against his. Immediately they were aroused. His moan was loud as he wrapped one hand at the back of her neck to pull her closer.  
They kissed as if all their longing was wrapped up in the one moment.  
Marcus slid his right hand in between her legs, pressing against the denim material. A deep moan escaped her throat as his mouth found her ear. Abby's hands slid into the back of his shirt, kneading his back with her capable hands.  
Her phone ringing made them pause.  
“It could be Jake or Callie, you have to answer it, Abby.”  
She stepped to the counter were her phone was on the charger. Marcus stepped behind her, nuzzling her neck.  
“What’s up, Jake?”  
“Tell Marcus that I’m coming back to get him. There was another murder at a hotel.”  
Marcus heard the words through the phone. He didn’t step away from Abby.  
“I’ll tell him.” She hung up.  
“Abby…..”  
She heard the need in his voice. His head was on her shoulder.  
“I can’t stop thinking about you either, Marcus. I don’t know what to do.” 

To be continued……………


	9. Chapter 9

Marcus and Jake walked into the hotel, they were led to the second floor, a man in uniform was talking rapidly trying to prepare the two detectives that he was leading to room 218.  
“The couple was blindsided, they had no chance. The man was apparently forced to watch as the intruder slowly killed his wife.”  
Marcus looked up.  
“So, the man just sat there while the murderer just slayed his wife?”  
“No, he tied the husband up.”  
Jake shook his head as he listened to the man explain.  
“Has the family been notified?"  
The man shook his head.  
“Unfortunately, that ball is going to be in your court. Once you guys are done here, Jaha wants you to head over to the residence.”  
They headed into the hotel room, the woman lying on the bed while the husband was stabbed while still sitting in the chair. It was a gruesome scene. 

They were in the hotel room for nearly forty minutes before they made their way out.  
“You know what I think?”  
Jake said it while he looked up and down the hotel hall. Marcus only made a noise in response.  
“I think we need to check with other hotels within the County limits to see if they have dealt with any robberies at hotels. Maybe we can catch the suspect on this hotels video camera and another hotel.”  
Marcus gave a nod.  
“That is a good idea. Let’s get downstairs, start the process and then notify the family.” 

Abby sat on her couch with a glass of wine in her hand, Callie sat on the other end with one leg crossed over the other while Abby had hers tucked underneath her.  
“Marcus said he can’t come back over tonight.”  
Callie said it sadly as she took a large sip before speaking again.  
“I just don’t think I can keep doing this.”  
Abby sat her wine glass down before crossing her arms and looking at her friend.  
“You’re going to break up with Marcus?”  
A small shrug moved across Callie’s shoulders.  
“He just isn’t interested anymore. It is like his mind is always somewhere else. And aren’t we the same women who swore that we would never chase after any man?”  
“We did. Do you feel like you are chasing Marcus?”  
Callie took another sip before her eyes filled with tears. Abby felt the guilt.  
“He very rarely ever calls and when he does it is only to cancel plans. The night of the school shooting, all I wanted to do was be next to him. Do you think he spent that night with me?”  
She shook her head before wiping her eyes.  
“Abby, why would he not want to be with the woman he loved after he was hurt? You saw his ribs that night. I haven’t even seen the bruises since that night at the hospital. He barely kisses me, barely puts his arms around me.”  
There was a part of Abby that wanted to tell her friend everything, instead she pictured the eay he had touched her that night. Abby swallowed hard before speaking.  
“Have you asked Marcus about it?”  
“Tonight, on the way here in fact. I asked him if he packed a bag to stay with me overnight like I had texted him about. He said that he couldn’t and when I asked why he said that he had just been really tired and that he needed to sleep. I haven’t so much as touched him in the last couple of months. I might as well be single.”  
What could Abby possibly say in response to her friend? There was nothing really because anything that came out of her mouth would throw her and Marcus completely under the bus.  
“I don’t know what to say, Callie.”  
Callie’s phone beeped.  
“I’m going to tell him tomorrow and with that I am going to take off, my Uber is here. I need to think anyway.”  
Abby stood up once Callie did, they hugged at the door.  
“If Marcus isn’t the one, just remember that the right one will show up.”  
“Goodnight, Abby.” 

Abby wasn’t sure what to do with her suddenly free night. She headed up the stairs and threw on a pair of sweats and a large t-shirt. Working out seemed like the thing to do. Perhaps it would help to clear her head about Marcus. Tonight, in the kitchen when he had held her and kissed her was terrifying and exciting at the same time. Abby both wanted to walk away from him and cling to him.  
She turned on the treadmill and began to walk at a fast pace as she turned on the television overhead. Her favorite show came on which always helped her to deal with her workouts. It didn’t take long for the sweat to begin to move over her. 

It was nearly three in the morning when Jake dropped Marcus off at his truck that was parked in front of Abby’s house. All of the lights were off, Marcus had glanced towards her bedroom window as he got out of Jake’s car.  
“Thanks for the ride back.”  
Jake was looking past Marcus and towards front door.  
“I really wanted to stay here tonight. Too bad she is asleep.”  
Marcus gave a nod.  
“Sorry man. See you later.”  
Jake gave a sad smile.  
“I’ll see you later man. See you tomorrow at the precinct?”  
“Yep, at the precinct on a Sunday. Damn killers should do this crap during the week. Bad joke, I know.”  
“And yet so very true. Tomorrow then.”  
Marcus shut the door and watched as Jake drove off. He turned towards the truck and there was Abby standing with the front door open and staring out at Marcus. Although he had been prepared to get in his truck and leave, he found himself slowly walking up the walkway and towards her. Neither said a word. Abby could see clearly how exhausted he was. He stepped up to her, she half expected that he would kiss her and instead he put his arms around her and tucked his head into her shoulder. Abby put her arms around him as if that was what home felt like.  
“I’m tired.”  
“Are you alright, Marcus?”  
He shook his head.  
“It was bad. I just need to sleep.”  
“Stay with me?”  
“The truck.”  
“Give me the keys, I’ll drive it around back.”  
“I’ll do it. I don’t want you in the dark by yourself. Give me a minute.”  
He reluctantly released her before heading to his truck. Luckily, there was a high wall around Abby’s backyard. No one would know that he was there. Marcus was grateful that he wouldn’t have to drive home after all. Abby greeted him at the backdoor, hand in hand they walked to her room.  
Marcus undressed before stepping into the shower, he took a quick one before sliding into bed and pulling Abby against him.  
“So, it was bad tonight?”  
“It was awful. Jake and I had to notify the family.”  
“Don’t talk about him while were in bed.”  
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to bring him up.”  
Abby turned in his arms to face him.  
“I have to tell you something.”  
Marcus ran his knuckles over her cheek, a look of concern washing over him.  
“What?”  
“I know this is going to sound odd coming from me but I know you have a right to know.”  
“Abby, what?”  
He watched as she swallowed deeply.  
“Callie is going to break up with you tomorrow.”  
“I think it only right that it happens, Abby.”  
She wasn’t sure what she had expected him to say and what she did know was that him saying that was not what she thought he would say.  
“What?”  
“Abby, I was going to do it anyway.”  
He held her hand against his chest as he spoke.  
“I don’t know what to say.”  
“You don’t have to say anything. All I know is that I want to be here with you.”  
She smiled brightly despite her exhaustion.  
“I want you here too.”  
Marcus kissed her softly before pulling her so that her head would rest against his chest. Together they fell asleep. 

Morning came all too quickly. Marcus and Abby woke up in the same position as they had fallen asleep in. Marcus stared at her as the soft blue light begin to fill up Abby’s room. Lightly he touched her face. A smile spread across her lips as she hummed a sound of pleasure.  
“Abby, how hard has it been to not talk since the hotel?”  
She ran her hand over his back as she kept her eyes shut.  
“I wondered if you thought about it.”  
“I think about you constantly. Walking into this house yesterday was more difficult than I thought it would be. It is too hard to see you with Jake. To see the way, he wants to touch you and be close to you. I hate it.”  
Slowly she opened her eyes and looked up at him.  
“I didn’t want any other hands on me except for yours.”  
“Have you been with him at all?”  
A slow shake of her head was all that she answered with, she could see that her answer pleased the man that was holding her.  
“I want to touch you, Abby.”  
“All the time?”  
The seriousness in his face didn’t change.  
“Abby, I want you to break up with him.”  
“Ok.”  
“Ok?”  
Her fingers glided over his cheek and then curled into his hair.  
“Yes, but how can we ever be together?”  
He placed his lips against hers before pulling back and looking at her.  
“There will have to be a long wait, I know. We will need to give them time. In the meantime, we will have these moments.”  
“You really want this?”  
“So much, Abby. I don’t know if I have ever wanted anything as much as I want you. Last night when he dropped me off, I thought about waking you up. I didn’t even want to have sex, I mean I always want to have sex with you but mostly I just was hoping to fall asleep next to you.”  
He liked the way Abby smiled at him.  
“Marcus?”  
“Hmmm”  
“Kiss me like you did yesterday.”  
His eyes dropped to her lips before a smile crossed his lips and then moved back up to her eyes. He slid out of the bed and pulled her with him. He sat on the plush chair and pulled her on top of him. Abby straddled him.  
“I want you.” His voice was filled with a huskiness that always set her center on fire.  
“Take me.”  
Marcus moaned loudly before he kissed her deeply. Abby sighed with pleasure as he did it. She wrapped her arms around him.  
“You’re so handsome, Marcus. You turn me on more than I ever thought anyone could.”  
He shook his head as she captured his lips to stop any of his disagreements. Marcus gave into her, kissing her hungrily as he slid his hands up her back and gripped her shoulders. Abby was grinding her hips against him, desperate to be one with him. She slid over him and took him completely. They froze momentarily as the pleasure swept over them.  
“I thought I could get enough of you, Abby. I can’t. I need you all the time.”  
“Oh Marcus, show me. Don’t stop.”  
His hands slid to her waist as he helped her find the rhythm that would make them lose their breath. He listened as her breathing began to change, as her eyes became half cast with lust and need, the way her voice came out raspy. The way she made love turned him on. One arm wrapped around his head as the other gripped his shoulders tightly.  
He kissed her neck, dragging his teeth across her skin, sucking and biting. Marcus claimed her nipple and listened as cried out his name.  
“Abby, you are so beautiful, so sexy, Fuck, you feel so good.”  
She kissed his neck, aching to keep him close.  
“I’m getting close. Marcus, don’t stop, baby, don’t stop.”  
He thrust up into her as he felt his own climax building.  
“Come on, cum for me, Abby.”  
Abby gripped his shoulders tightly as she moved faster and harder against him.  
“Marcus! Marcus!”  
They came hard and together simultaneously.  
Marcus buried his head into her neck as he rested against her body. Abby rested her head on top of his as she held him to her.  
“How is it possible that it is this good every single damn time?”  
“Are you going to stay here with me all day, I don’t want to let you go.”  
“I don’t want to go, baby. I have to get to the precinct.”  
Abby sighed with disappointment. She kissed his hair before she rested her head against him.  
“Marcus?”  
“Hmm?”  
“I already miss you.”  
Marcus leaned back and looked into her perfect face. A small smile creeping across his rough lips.  
“Abby, when this is all over and done with, we will have a life together. I don’t want to leave. You do know that though, right?”  
She cupped his face, her eyes lit up as she gazed at him.  
“Marcus, I know. You make me incredibly happy.”  
“Even with the guilt?”  
“Yes, baby, even with the guilt.”  
“Put your head on my shoulder, I’m not done holding you yet.”  
Abby kissed his neck before snuggling into him.  
“How much longer do I get to keep you?”  
“About another hour and half.”  
“Take me back to bed and hold me, Marcus. I want to stretch out against you.”  
He shocked her by standing up with her still in his arms.  
“Your ribs must be feeling better.”  
“Everything feels better right now.”  
She laughed as he laid her down on the bed. He leaned over her and kissed her before spooning her. They fell back to sleep together. 

To be continued.


	10. Chapter 10

When Marcus woke later, he could smell coffee, eggs, and toast, it was the first time in a while that he opened his eyes and had a smile on his face. He stretched his body before sliding out of bed and made his way to the shower. He knew today that he would call Callie and they would get to the conversation they needed to have, he was hoping to get it done before he went to the precinct.  
Marcus stepped from the shower, he toweled off his hair before wrapping the towel around his waist and stepping back into the bedroom.  
“Good morning, I thought I heard you awake.”  
Abby came into the room, a robe around her body and two cups of coffee in her hands.  
“Hey.”  
He smiled as he said it. Abby handed him a cup of coffee as she stepped up on the tips of her toes in order to press her lips to his. Marcus wrapped one arm around her as he kissed her back.  
“You said you were supposed to leave like three hours ago.”  
He smirked in response as his eyes cast over her.  
“Sleeping in bed next to you takes almost top priority.”  
She grinned as she stepped away from him in order to grab some clothes from her closet.  
“What take top priority?”  
Marcus set his coffee cup down before walking up behind her and wrapping his toned arms around her petite frame.  
“Making love to you in that bed is the top priority.”  
“Good answer.”  
He kissed her neck before letting go of her.  
“I’m going to get ready, Abby. I don’t want to leave. Wish I could stay here with you all day.”  
Abby laid her clothes on the bed before she sat amongst the rumpled sheets and watched Marcus get dressed. He was a sight to behold with his hair wet, his shoulders still slightly damp. She could have watched him all day while he did nothing more than small tasks. The way his muscles moved beneath his skin, it was the sexiest thing she had ever seen.  
“I made breakfast, let me shower and then we will eat before you go.”  
He gave her a slight nod before he sat down to put on his shoes.  
“I have to call the precinct anyway.” 

 

Marcus headed for the precinct after eating with Abby. He was surprised that he could feel this happy even though there was a murderer to catch and a woman to end a relationship with. He really had wanted to stay under the covers and wrapped up with Abby. Just the thought of heading back the later brought a smile to his face. 

Abby decided to head to work in order to handle some paperwork that she had been putting off for a while. It would be a good distraction until Marcus could get back to her. A month ago her life didn’t revolve around anyone and now she felt as if everything in her life was screaming for him to be part of it.  
“Dr. Walters! We have an emergency! A woman was brought in, she has been badly beaten. Can you help?”  
It took her no time to put down her paperwork and follow Jackson down the stairs and towards emergency.  
The woman was so badly beaten, that it was hard to make out her features at all.  
“Someone get her hooked up saline! Let’s find the wounds! Come on people!”  
Dr. Griffin shouted orders while they wheeled the woman into a room in order to help her. 

“Marcus, you’re here. We were about to look for you. Are you ok?”  
He looked up at Jaha and Jake from where he was looking through the photos of last night’s crime scene.  
“I’m fine. What’s going on?”  
The two men looked back and forth between each other before their eyes were cast back on to Marcus.  
“Well, after the incident at your house, we were worried about you.”  
He stood up quickly.  
“What incident at my house?”  
“The woman who was attacked on your front lawn.”  
Jaha said it as he laid one hand on Marcus’s shoulder.  
“What woman?”  
Jake shook his head, almost not believing that Marcus wasn’t aware of what happened.  
“Marcus, I called you several times during the night. About four in the morning a call was placed from your residence. A woman was beaten and left for dead on your front lawn. Unfortunately, there was no I.D. and no telling tattoos on the woman.”  
“Where is she now?”  
“There are officers with her at the hospital. Doctors are working on her as we speak.”  
“Marcus, what time did you go home last night?”  
He shook his head.  
“I didn’t go home.”  
They barely heard the words come out of Marcus’s mouth. Marcus sat down with a thud onto the chair as he imagined who the woman could have been.  
Jake leaned down.  
“Were you with Callie? Could she verify that?”  
He shook his head.  
“No, I wasn’t with Callie.”  
Both of the men stayed quiet before Jaha finally spoke.  
“Where were you?”  
His heart started to race, he stood up.  
“I need to get to the hospital. I need to know who this woman is…..”  
He turned quickly to face Jaha.  
“Do you have a copy of the 9-1-1 call? I need to know if I recognize the voice of the person who called.”  
“You can’t leave, Kane. You will need to be questioned.”  
Marcus felt his whole body tense up as he stared at both men.  
“Questioned?”  
“Marcus, a woman was found beaten on your front lawn and the rescue call was made from your house. You have to know that we would have to ask you about it.”  
“You want to question me? You think that I could harm a woman?”  
His eyes darted back and forth between Jaha and Jake. The men noticed Marcus’s face grow red with anger, the veins in his neck bulging.  
“This is what you both think of me?”  
“Kane, I am your captain, you know that I have no choice but to make sure that this woman is defended. She is my responsibility, not you.”  
“Marcus, let’s just get you into a room and we will make it quick.”  
Jake had said it calmly in order to put Marcus at ease. His blue eyes were on Marcus as he spoke.  
“I didn’t hurt anyone. I would never beat up a woman.”  
“I believe you, Marcus. Jaha and I have to do our job though, I know you understand that.”  
“No! I don’t understand that. Why would you not look for me to ask me about this?”  
“We called you several times.”  
“I’m sorry to interrupt. Detective Griffin, here are the tapes from the hotels in the area.”  
A young officer was standing there with a canvas bag that held the tapes. Jake reached out and signed for the tapes. 

Marcus didn’t utter another word as he was led into the interrogation room. He couldn’t believe that he was sitting on the wrong side of the metal table. Normally he was the one doing the questioning and either playing good cop or bad cop. He couldn’t believe that this morning he had come to in Abby’s bed and now he was sitting in a dark interrogation room. He knew that there were detectives and a psychologist behind the large glass and that they were watching him as if he was a caged animal.  
Right now, he felt like he could be one.  
Jaha walked in with a file in his hands, Marcus knew the tactic.  
“We know who the woman was on your front lawn, the one that was left for dead.”  
Marcus shrugged.  
“Are you going to share?”  
Jaha gave an unamused grin.  
“No, I think you will have to figure that out.”  
Marcus knew that comment didn’t bode well for him.  
“Jaha, I didn’t hurt anyone.”  
“Well, you could tell me where you went last night after Jake dropped you off at your truck. He drove by early this morning and your truck wasn’t at Abby’s. If you just tell us where you were and who you were with than we could bring all of this to an end.”  
“I can’t tell you where I was.”  
The man that was his captain sat down in the seat opposite of Marcus.  
“Marcus, do you have any enemies?”  
“Not that I can think of. The only enemies would be people I have put behind bars.”  
“We are currently looking into any recent releases.” 

Abby sat in her office, not quite believing what had taken place.  
“Abby, they have someone being questioned at the police station in regard to the woman who died downstairs.”  
“Murdered, she was murdered. It wasn’t like she had a heart attack and died, she was beaten to death. I don’t think she even had a chance to defend herself.”  
Jackson nodded.  
“I understand but, Abby…..”  
She turned in her chair in order to face him.  
“Who do they have in custody?”  
“Marcus Kane, the detective.”  
Abby jumped up and grabbed her jacket, she rushed passed the man standing at the door.  
“Where are you going?”  
“I have to get to the station.”  
“Why? It doesn’t involve Jake.”  
She sighed.  
“I’m not worried about Jake.” 

The police station had reporters outside, they were anxious for answers as was every citizen who was standing there giving their theories. Abby rushed into the station, stopping at the front desk.  
“Abby? Are you here for Jake? He is a little busy right now.”  
“I know, I need to see Jake immediately.”  
The young man sighed as if Abby was putting him out.  
“I’ll call back there. If you could have a seat please.”  
Abby sat down and watched as the man picked up the phone. He said something as he put one hand to his forehead as if he was waiting to get lectured.  
“He will be out soon.”  
Several minutes later, Jake came walking out.  
“Hi honey, now isn’t the best time.”  
Abby jumped up.  
“I need to see Marcus.”  
He froze in place.  
“Why would you need to see, Marcus?”  
“I know he is being questioned, I need to see him.”  
Jake shook his head and looked away from her before finally meeting her gaze again.  
“I have to go and see if anything was found on the tapes anyway. I can only give you a few minutes with him. Follow me.”  
Abby walked behind him, her eyes darting around as people watched her and Jake with curiosity. Jake stopped in front of a door and her heart raced with the thought of Marcus on the other side.  
“Only five minutes, Abby. I know this has been a hard day for you and I’m sorry. We can have dinner or something and talk. Are you hungry? Do you have an appetite?”  
“I don’t want to eat, Jake. I just need to talk to him.”  
“Ok, but he says that he didn’t do it.”  
“I am sure that he didn’t. Please let me go in and see him.”  
Jake opened the door, Marcus had his head cast down as he sat in the hard metal chair.  
“Marcus!”  
She shut the door, leaving her and Marcus alone in the room. His eyes got big when he saw her.  
“Abby! You shouldn’t be here.”  
“Did you expect me to stay away?”  
Abby wrapped her arms around him. He backed away immediately.  
“There is always someone watching.”  
She backed away from him and took the chair opposite of him. He looked disappointed to not be touching her.  
“Abby, do you know who the woman was? No one will tell me who she was or how she is doing.”  
Her dark eyes shot across to his.  
“You don’t know?”  
He shrugged and shook his head.  
“No. Do you know who it was?”  
“I tried to save her on the table. I couldn’t.”  
Marcus was only staring at her, he seemed to be in shock.  
“She died?”  
He said it in a whisper.  
“Yes, she died.”  
Abby’s eyes filled up with tears as she said it. Confusion watched over Marcus’s face.  
“Did you know her? Who was it?”  
“Marcus……”  
He stared across her, quickly he reached out and took her hands in his, no longer caring who was watching them, he only wanted to comfort her.  
“I’m sure you did everything you could to save the woman.”  
She nodded without looking at him.  
“I did, I tried to save her. I shouldn’t have been working on her.”  
“Abby, what is going on? Why shouldn’t you have been working on her?”  
“Marcus, it was…..”  
The tears moved over her cheeks as she finally regained eye contact with him.  
“Who?”  
“Callie. It was Callie who was murdered.”  
Marcus’s mouth fell opened. 

To be continued…..


	11. Chapter 11

For several long moments, Abby watched at Marcus take in the news of Callie’s death. Slowly, he let go of her hands and covered his face instead. There was nothing Abby could do except to watch the destruction hit him. He dropped his hands to his lap.   
“If someone hurt Callie on my property, then they may have been after me….”   
His words trailed off as he stared pale faced at Abby.   
“Marcus, don’t start this, don’t blame yourself.”   
He looked at her with complete confusion.   
“Don’t blame myself?”   
He hit the table with his fist as he got up from the chair with such speed that the chair screeched back against the floor. Marcus had his hands on his hips one moment and pushed them through his hair in the next.   
“Who else would I blame, Abby? This person, this person who broke into my house and made the 9-1-1 call. They had to have been there for me, Callie must have shown up, hoping to me….”   
He had gone from yelling to talking softly.   
“…..Only, I wasn’t there……”   
His eyes fell on to Abby, he might as well as slapped her. He saw the shock on her face and yet said nothing.   
“Because you were with me, right? Is that what you were going to say?”   
He turned so that his body was facing her as she sat at the interrogation table. Marcus head fell to the side as he realized what he had said.   
“I don’t…..”   
Marcus stopped speaking as Abby’s head fell. She looked utterly depleted. He moved slowly to her and knelt next to her. Marcus took her hands in his, he was looking up into her face as he eyes glistened with tears.   
“Abby, I don’t blame you.”   
She slowly looked at him.   
“If you blame yourself then you would have to blame me too. I was there. It was my bed that you were in.”   
“I wanted last night. I did. I don’t blame you. I’m worried for both of us. If someone finds out about us then there is a chance that they will come after you. I have to keep you safe.”   
Abby cupped his face, she didn’t care that someone could be watching. All that mattered to her was the man kneeling in front of her.   
“And you! You must stay safe too. Marcus, I need you. I can’t have anything happen to you. Do you understand?”   
His hands were still holding hers as they laid against his face. Marcus gently kissed her hand before leaning up to kiss her lips quickly before he wrapped his arms around her.   
“I’m going to protect you. We need to leave. I have to check on my mother.”   
He stood quickly, pulling Abby with him as the room to the interrogation room was thrown open.   
“Detective Kane!”   
Two uniformed officers stepped in, they were so fast as they grabbed Marcus, effectively pulling him away from Abby and throwing his body into the metal chair.   
“Let go of him!” Abby screamed, she watched in shock as Marcus was handcuffed to the table in front of him.   
“It’s ok, Abby. It’s alright.”   
He was trying to comfort her even as he was handcuffed. One of the officers leaned over Marcus.   
“You should have been a little more careful.”   
“I didn’t kill Callie.”   
Marcus said more calmly than he felt.   
“I wasn’t talking about your girlfriend’s murder.”   
With that both officers walked out as Jake came strolling in. He stared at Marcus before turning his eyes to Abby and then back at Marcus. In his hand was a manila folder. Jake set the folder on the table before he began to pace back and forth, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt. Abby seemed frozen in time as she watched him, the nausea hitting the pit of her stomach. Her eyes fell across the table at Marcus, he gave her a small shake of his head, telling her not to speak.   
The punch came out of nowhere, with Marcus handcuffed to the table there was nowhere for his body to go as the impact sank into his body where Jake’s fist met his jaw. Abby screamed as a second and third punch landed on Marcus’s face.   
“Jake!”   
Abby jumped up and tried to pull Jake off Marcus. It one quick move, Jake turned and pushed Abby sending her flying back against the wall.   
“I will kill you! Do you hear me Jake? I will kill you for touching her!”   
Marcus had no choice but to watch as Jake grabbed Abby by the arms, pulled her up from the spot where she landed and in one quick move set her back in her chair. She looked dazed as she held her left shoulder with her right hand.   
“Don’t touch him again, Jake!”   
He looked down at Abby.   
“I should leave that for you, right?”   
Jake reached out and opened the folder that was on the table, he tossed out the pictures that had been printed from the video. The pictures showed Marcus in a towel, Abby entering the hotel with a bag. Another set of pictures showed the couple in front of the hotel door kissing. Yet, another showed them holding hands as they entered the elevator. All three of them stared at the photos before Jake broke the spell that seemed to have fallen over the room.   
“How long have you been fucking her?”   
Jake landed two punches, one in the ribs where Marcus was still sore. He felt the crack in his already damaged ribs. As his head hung in pain, the second punch came to the same jaw that had already begun to bruise from the previous assault by Jake.   
Abby cried, she tried to jump up, Marcus managed to take her hands in his.   
“Don’t! I don’t want you hurt.”   
Blood poured from his lip as he spoke. The woman he loved clenched her hands around his.   
“Isn’t that sweet? He wants to keep you safe…”   
His eyes traveled over to Marcus, he leaned down to look at the man whose eye was beginning to bruise. One hand on the table in front of Marcus as the other was on the back of his chair.   
“You want to keep my fiancé safe? That’s cute considering that you had your own woman that you didn’t bother to protect.”   
Jake was half shocked to see Marcus look up at him.   
“I didn’t kill Callie. I have never hurt a woman; however, I am willing to kill you right about now.”   
“Are you making threats, Marcus? You really aren’t in the position.”   
Jake pushed back the chair that his one-time friend was sitting in. Marcus felt the pull on his shoulders and wrists as Jake slowly pushed back the chair. Abby jumped up, she pushed on the table, keeping Marcus’s chair and the table close together. Jake hit Marcus in the ribs a second time.   
“If you don’t stop, Abby, I will kill him.”   
“Please, don’t hurt him. Stop!”   
Suddenly she ran to the door, only to find it locked. Abby pounded and screamed. She ran to the window in hopes that someone was out there and watching.   
“He hasn’t been arrested! Please help! Help!”   
Behind her, Jake punched until Marcus could do no more than close his eyes and lower his head, it was his only defense. The door swung open, Jaha ran in and pulled Jake back. Abby didn’t pay attention to what was being said between the men, she ran to Marcus and cradled his head in her arms.   
“It’s alright. Jaha is here. You are going to be alright. Marcus?”   
He only gave a nod as he leaned his head against her.   
“Someone uncuff Detective Kane. Jake, Reynolds, and Rylan! I want all three of you in my office immediately. Someone call a bus for Kane.”   
“No Bus!”   
As soon as Kane was released from his metal holds, he grabbed Abby’s hand.   
“I need to check on my mother.”   
With a limp and a grunt, he pulled Abby behind him as they left the interrogation room. Jaha was yelling something at Marcus. Neither Marcus or Abby turned around. 

They showed up at his mother’s house. Vera opened the door and her mouth fell open.   
“Honey! Oh my God! Get in here. I heard about Callie. I’m so sorry.”   
Vera pulled out the first aid kid and set it on the counter. She watched as Abby stood in between Marcus’s legs as he sat at the bar stool. Carefully and lovingly the woman with her son cleaned his wounds as she spoke softly to him.   
“Marcus?”   
The man heard his mom speak softly. He knew that tone, she wanted to know something. He reached up and took hold of Abby’s wrist to stop her so that he could look over at his mother.   
“Jake did this. Is that what you wanted to know?”   
His mom arched an eyebrow.   
“Marcus Daniel Kane! Didn’t I tell you not to keep spending time with her? No offense, Abby. I like you. The problem is that I knew long ago that he was going to have feelings for you. Jake beat you up because you stole his girl?”   
Marcus and Abby looked at each other before he looked back at his mother as Abby looked down at the ground, feeling the shame.   
“I guess. It’s not a fling, mom.”   
Vera’s eyes shot to Abby who still wasn’t looking up.   
“Abigail, is that true?”   
Her eyes came up slowly, she first looked at Vera and then at Marcus.   
“It’s not just a fling.”   
Abby laid her hand on Marcus’s knee, she wanted so badly to lean into him. Marcus sensed it, he stood up slowly and put his arms around her.   
“Mom, we’ve been through so much today.”   
Vera nodded.   
“I will make you guys something to eat…..”   
Vera put up her hands before Marcus could protest.   
“I know by the looks of it that you haven’t eaten much today. Go up and shower. You still have old clothes up in your old room. I’m sure Abby can use some of your stuff. Come down and eat, have some tea and then get some sleep.”   
Marcus smiled weakly at his mother.   
“Don’t answer that door and don’t answer the phone.”   
“Why?”   
“Because I don’t know what they wanted with Callie or with me. Please just let me keep you both safe.”   
Vera let out a sigh.   
“I want to let in my dog.”   
“I’ll let him in before going up.”   
Marcus held Abby’s hand as he let in the black lab. 

The shower wasn’t sexual and yet, Abby washed him gently. She dried him carefully before putting bandages in place. They ate together with Vera, eggs and toast. They had hot tea as they sat at the kitchen table. Callie evident in all of their minds. 

That night Marcus stayed on the couch as Abby went to sleep upstairs in Marcus’s old room. In the end even though he shouldn’t be lying next to another woman when Callie’s body wasn’t yet cold, he headed up the stairs. It felt like it took forever to reach the doorway. He crawled into bed with her.  
“I’m glad you’re here.”   
“Me too, Abby.”   
He laid his head on her chest, she stroked his hair as he finally drifted off to sleep. 

 

To be continued………


	12. Chapter 12

Marcus knew that if the truth of him and Abby ever came out that it would be bad. With all of that, she had still stroked his hair as his sore body drifted off to sleep. He stood in the doorway of the kitchen and stared out at her as she sat in the living room. A blanket was over her shoulders as she sat in the large recliner in the front room. Her head was off to the side and her eyes closed. The stress had taken its effect.  
“Did she tell you that Jake called her this morning?”   
He turned and looked over at his mother who was holding a steaming cup of coffee. Her dog at her feet.   
“When?   
“You were in the shower.”   
His mom looked concerned.   
“Don’t wake her Marcus. Let her sleep. This decision you both made is destroying her. Let her rest before you talk about it.”   
“I can’t do that.”   
He set his cup on the counter and headed into the living room. Marcus settled himself into the narrow spot next to Abby and pulled her into his lap. She let out a sigh and then rested her head into the crook of his neck.   
“What did he say to you when he called.”   
“I don’t want to talk about it.”   
“Baby, I need you to tell me.”   
“It doesn’t matter.”   
“Abby?”   
“Marcus….”  
Abby leaned up to look at him, cupping his face in her hands. He instantly saw how her eyes were swollen. She saw the concern on his face.   
“Why does it matter?”   
He gave the smallest shake of his head as his own hands reached up to take her face in his hands.   
“It matters because it is you and me now. I should have handled all this differently, Abby. I didn’t though. All that matters now is that we stand strong together through all this. That means that we are honest and we tell each other what is going on.”   
“Marcus, I want to believe you. I want to believe that the guilt won’t rise up and that you won’t leave me.”   
Her eyes moved over his swollen, bruised and battered face before she leaned her forehead on his shoulder. Marcus wrapped her in his arms.   
“I love you, Abby. We didn’t get together the right way. I know that. If he told you that I’m going to run, he is wrong.”   
“She died because of us.”   
“No, she died because someone killed her. We didn’t do that.”   
“If you had been there. If I hadn’t pulled you into my bed…….If…..”   
“You didn’t pull me into anything. I went there willingly.”   
He felt her tears seep through his shirt.   
“But she’s dead.”   
“I didn’t want her to die, I never wanted that for Callie. She was wonderful, vibrant and amazing in so many ways. I never wanted her to loser her life.”   
His voice grew emotional as he spoke, Abby heard the way he choked on his words. Abby sat up, pulling his head to her shoulder this time.   
“Is it wrong that I wish she had been enough for you?”   
He shot his head up and looked at Abby.   
“Don’t! Don’t say that! Don’t you dare start to let the guilt over run you.”   
“We killed her, Marcus.”   
“No, no we didn’t!”   
Marcus was gripping her shoulders.   
“Abby, baby, we didn’t do this. Our actions may have been fucked up but I never set out to kill anyone.”   
He watched helplessly as the woman in his lap cried.   
“Please don’t do this, Abby.”   
“How could we ever be together again knowing what happened to her? Knowing that she was my best friend and even if inadvertently, we still set these things in motion.”   
“Are you ending things with me?”   
“I should but, I can’t. Isn’t that awful?”   
She leaned forward and kissed his lips slowly before resting her forehead against his.   
“I love you, Abby. I do. So much so.”   
“I love you too, Marcus. How could I ever turn away from this even when I know it started wrong?”   
“We don’t. We hang on to one another. Believe that we will get passed this. Is that all he said on the phone?”   
“He said that I should keep my whore ass home and not attend Callie’s funeral. That a church isn’t a place for women that will spread them for anyone.”   
Marcus noted how she kept her eyes closed and her chin trembled as she recounted Jake’s words.   
“Baby…..”   
He pulled her head back to his chest and held her as she let the tears slip down her face freely.   
The knock on the door brought them out of their sad little cocoon. Abby stood and slipped off his lap. He squeezed her hand before standing and heading to the door. Jaha was standing there.   
“Detective Kane, we need to talk.”   
Abby felt her heart speed up, the thought of Marcus’s beating replaying in her mind, Vera came into the front room, Marcus only stared at his boss.   
“What do you need?”   
“Can I come in, Marcus?”   
Marcus stood aside and allowed Jaha to come in.   
“How did you know I was here?”   
“Simple deduction. I went to your house which is off limits, but, you’ve always like to break the rules. Went to Abby’s and of course no one answered. Then I thought of your mother’s and well here we are. Speaking of which, Hello, Mrs. Kane.”   
“Thelonious, I hope you suspended Jake for doing this to my son.”   
The captain gave a slight nod.   
“It is one of things I hope to speak to Marcus about. Can we have a minute, Marcus?”   
“No.”   
All eyes turned to Abby. Marcus moved to her and took her hand after kissing her temple.   
“You can speak to me in front of my family.”   
“I think you need to end this, Marcus. There is a code among men, perhaps you missed it.”   
“I didn’t miss it. However, this thing with Abby isn’t going to end. We are well aware of our mistakes. However, we aren’t going to allow it to be thrown in our faces over and over again.”   
“You took another man’s woman.”   
“Yes, I did. What’s your point?”   
“Jake is hurting.”   
“That wasn’t my wish.”   
“What did you wish, Marcus?”   
Marcus shook his head.   
“I know that I didn’t wish for this. No one goes around and tries to purposely fall in love with his best friend’s girl. It happened though. I have no plans to let her go.”   
Jaha gave a shake of his head.   
“Well, I need you to come back to your house. I need to know if anything is missing.”   
“What about Jake? What happened?”   
Jaha’s dark eyes looked up at Marcus.   
“Do you really want him to be suspended?”   
“No, but I don’t want him on this case if I am going to have to come in contact with him or if Abby will have to face him for any reason.”   
“I will make sure that he does not have any contact with Abby. Does that work for you, Abby?”   
Marcus looked down at the woman beside him, her eyes met his. Abby turned her body into his so that he could wrap her in his arms for a brief moment before she looked over at Jaha, suddenly so unsure of him.   
“I don’t want any contact with Jake, not after what he did to Marcus yesterday in the interrogation room.”   
“I understand. Marcus, can we go please?”   
“Marcus?”   
Abby sounded urgent as Vera watched the interaction between all three of them.   
“What is it, Abby?”   
She looked up at him, clutching his left hand in between both of hers.   
“I don’t like this. What could they possibly need you for?”   
“We need him to tell us whether or not anything has been stolen.”   
“You could take your own truck. Let me come with you.”   
Marcus removed his hand from hers and instead cupped her face in between his hands.   
“I will be alright, sweetheart. I’ll be ok.”   
“Yesterday you were beat.”   
Marcus didn’t need to be reminded, he held the remembrance of it all over his body. He was still sore, still angry and still sad over what he had done behind Jake’s back. Yet, the woman beside him meant everything now, it was her that he would protect. He wrapped his arms around her, kissed the top of her head and held her tightly.   
“I’ll be ok. I’ll be back in less than an hour.”   
“You were beat yesterday, he tried to dislocate your arms. Who knows what he would have done if I wasn’t able to get help.”   
“But you did, Abby. You did get the help that I needed.”   
She looked up at him, slowly she stroked his face where he was bruised the most.   
“Marcus, keep your cell phone on you.”   
He cocked his head to the side and gave her a look that said he understood what she was feeling.   
“I am coming back. You stay with my mom. Keep the doors locked. I will be back in less than an hour, just like I promised.”   
“Marcus?”   
“Hmmmm?”   
He was aware that she was clutching his t-shirt.   
“I love you.”   
Marcus kissed her forehead before hugging her on last time.   
“I love you too. I’ll see you soon.”   
He gave his mom a look that signified to comfort Abby before he left with Jaha. 

Marcus’s house was in shambles. Whoever had been there broke every picture from he owned, his mattress had been slashed as well as his couch, every office drawer had been emptied.   
Yet, he hadn’t seen anything missing.   
“I don’t know what they were after.”   
“Did you keep anything here in regards to the case?”   
“No, everything would have been at the precinct.” 

Marcus was dropped off in front of his mother’s driveway, Abby came barging out of the house, her cell phone in her hand.   
“What’s wrong?”   
Only she wasn’t looking at Marcus, her eyes were squarely on Jaha.   
“You said that Jake would stay away from me! You need to put that man on a leash!”   
Jaha sprang from the car.   
“What are you talking about?”   
“He was here. He almost broke down the door.”   
Marcus saw red.   
“Are you hurt? Is my mom hurt?”   
“Were fine. I want to press charges.”   
Jaha shook his head.   
“You can’t press charges unless he laid a hand on you or caused damage.”   
Abby shook her head.   
“He knew not too. Marcus, he is going to come back.”   
Marcus turned to Jaha.   
“You have to stop him, Jaha.”   
He took Abby’s hand and pulled her inside the house.   
“Tell me what happened.”   
He pulled her hand until she sat on the couch next to him, his mother was already seated in the recliner with the dog next to her.   
“Jake showed up here, pounding on the door. Told Abby he would marry her anyway. That he wouldn’t hold her being a whore against her forever.”   
Marcus’s mouth fell open as his head fell back against the couch. His hand still holding Abby’s.   
“You aren’t a whore, Abby.”   
His head was turned so that he was looking at her.   
“I know that, you know that and even deep down he knows that.”   
“Did he say anything else?”   
“He said that it was our fault that she died.”   
This time her voice did crack. Marcus wanted to hurt Jake in that moment.   
“We have to come up with a game plan in case he ever comes back.”   
He said it looking from Abby to his mother and then back at Abby.   
“I won’t let him hurt either one of you.”   
Abby leaned her head on his shoulder, feeling like all of this was because her and the man next to her couldn’t control themselves. Marcus was feeling that way too. He put one hand on Abby’s knee, knowing that no matter how his guilt played with his emotions, he would move heaven and earth to keep Abby safe. 

To be continued……..


	13. Chapter 13

The day of Callie's funeral came one week after her murder. The next morning brought the storm which matched their mood from being banned. The sky was a deep dark grey, the rain came in the early morning hours, it seemed fitting to both Abby and Marcus who lay close together under a blanket. As she began to cry there was little the man next to her could say. He merely held her tighter against him and softly laid one soft kiss to Abby's ear as her back was flushed against his chest.  
"Shhhhhhh"  
Marcus wasn't sure what more he was capable of when he felt the fault of all this laid squarely on his shoulders.  
"My best friend died while the man she loved was in my bed, Marcus. How do we ever overcome that?"  
"Abby, please don't think about it like that."  
The woman beside him only cried harder.  
"I set this into motion, Abby, not you."  
She turned in his arms to face him. One hand cupping his face.  
"No, you can't take all the blame on yourself. I share the fault. I wanted you, Marcus and I would never have been satisfied until I had you. If you hadn't approached me at the car that night, at some point I would have come to you. The more I think about it, the more I know it's true."  
Marcus could only watch as the tears continued down her cheeks and her chin trembled. He carefully leaned forward and softly kissed the tears away. Abby wrapped her arms around his head holding him to her. Although they shared the same bed every night, they hadn't made love again as if that alone would make up for the string of events their need for one another had caused. Marcus laid his head on her shoulder, while he simply held her body close to his, wishing that would somehow be enough.....it never was for either of them. They both wanted the other and yet, the guilt held both of them at bay.  
"I hate that she lost her life, Abby, I can't feel guilty for loving you. I know I should but, I can't."  
Abby had one hand on the back of his head, the other splayed on his bare back.  
"Marcus........"  
He held her even tighter, so sure she would pull away from him, they had pulled away from each other so much over the last week. He wasn't ready to let go. Not yet. He shifted his face into her neck and breathed in her scent.  
He felt as her hand left his head and instead wrapped over his back and gripped his shoulder.  
"Marcus......"  
"I don't want to let go, not yet."  
"I miss you, Marcus."  
He groaned into her neck, she felt his body respond almost instantly. Yet, he was terrified that she would stop.  
"Abby......"  
His open mouth kiss to her neck sent shockwaves through her entire body that seened to ricochet through Marcus as he kept the kiss slow, one hand slowly moved to her leg slipping beneath the nightgown as he squezzed Abby's leg, her soft moan near his ear was enough to make him groan as he continued the sensuous kiss to her neck. He let his tongue lick in a dragging motion from her collarbone to her ear before ending it by sucking her earlobe into his mouth while his hand on her leg moved up to her hip. Marcus pulled softly until her underwear slid down Abby's legs, grateful that tonight they could cling to one another. Marcus felt her shift as she pulled the nightgown over her head, seperating them for only an instant as he took full advantage of the moment, slipping his boxers away from his body.  
He kissed her lips softly, slowly, one hand on her hip as the other gently pushed the inside of her knee, seperating her as their kiss stayed soft. Abby whimpered as her chest slowly arched up, hoping for contact with his. Marcus almost too slowly leaned towards her breast, his tongue out, barely touching her nipple, Abby's gasp urging him on as he swirled his tongue around her before enveloping it completely in his mouth. She moaned loudly almost forgetting they were in someone else's house. Marcus slipped one hand over her mouth as he felt the moans of his name filling his hand. He gave the other nipple the same attention before Marcus moved his body between her legs, moving his hand away from her as Marcus laid his forehead against hers. Abby laid her hands on his head, gazing up at him as she waited for him to enter her. Her face was still damp with tears.  
"I tried not to miss you so much, Abby, after that first time. Yet, knowing what it was like to hold you only made my need for you that much stronger. To realize I was in love with you was a shock to my soul. Never have I ever loved anyone the way I love you....."  
His knuckles dragged over side as he kept his forehead against hers.  
"I tried to talk myself out of it, tried to tell myself that another woman could be enough."  
Marcus knew she was softly crying again. It was then that he entered her, he did it slowly as they both gasped. He let the feeling envelope him before his lips moved to her cheeks, kissing away the tears as he moved his hips and body against hers.  
"Marcus, I missed being with your body like this. I missed making love with you."  
He kissed to where a tear had made it's way to her ear before whispering.  
"I love you."  
"Marcus, I love you, so much."  
She gripped his back, her back arching, her chest already flushed with his making them both moan loudly, they covered each other's mouth as their sounds took on a desperate life of their own. Still they kept it slow before Abby moved her head so that he would lose his grasp upon her lips, her hand falling from his mouth before capturing his lips in hers. Their kiss was sensuous as they moaned against one another, trying not to be loud. Marcus slipped a hand between their bodies making her forget about the kiss as her head fell back against the bed. The man aboved her watched her as she bit her lip, trying desperately to be quiet. Her eyes came open as she gazed up at him, one of her hands sliding against her own head as soft moans escaped between her lips despite her hopes to subside them. This right here was perhaps the most breathtaking thing he had ever seen.  
"Marcus, I love you."  
That, that right there, the way she looked with the words that tumbled from her mouth almost did him  
In.  
"You have no idea what you do to me, Abby. No idea at all."  
Her mouth fell open, her eyes closed as her body clenched around his and came hard after a week of denying one another because of the heavy guilt. As her body came slowly down of the high only Marcus was capable of bringing her, Abby slid her hands into his hair, watching as his eyes fell closed, he buried his face into her neck knowing it was the only way to contain the sounds that only Abby could bring from him. He came inside her, his breathing raspy as his body stopped loving hers for the moment.  
They had missed this too, the holding each other after. Together they stayed like that with Abby dragging her fingernails over his back.  
"You're everyrhing to me, Abby. Everything."

 

To be continued......


	14. Chapter 14

It seemed only right to resign from the force. It was with a heavy heart that Marcus went to Jaha and told him face to face. Marcus knew that all eyes would be on him, his girlfriend murdered at his home while he was at his girlfriend’s house and Callie was all bet left to fend for herself. He hadn’t wanted to run into Jake and was a bit relieved when he didn’t see Jake sitting at his desk.   
“Well, as I live and breathe, if it isn’t detective Kane.”   
Marcus gave a small smile that he didn’t feel as he looked at Jaha.   
“I’m glad you’re here, I was hoping to speak with you.”   
Jaha gave a small shake of his head as he held his office door open.   
“Come on it.”  
Nothing in Jaha’s office had changed, as always there was a stale cup of coffee on his desk, gum wrappers littered the captain’s desk, something everyone had become used to when Jaha had quite smoking a couple of years before. Now instead of smelling like smoke, the captain sounded a bit annoying as he smacked his lips together as he chewed piece after piece of cinnamon flavored gum.   
“So, tell me, what can I do for you?”  
Jaha gestured for Marcus to take a seat, which he did.   
“I’m not going to keep my position here.”   
Jaha stared at the man across from him as if he didn’t quite believe it. Suddenly the captain sat forward.   
“Look, I know that things are tough, but man, you brought that on yourself. Everything will calm down, you’ll see. Even Jake will eventually get past it. Pretty soon, people will stop staring at you and Abby as if you did something wrong.”   
Marcus felt the defensiveness surge inside him. He put his hands up as he stared across the desk at Jaha.   
“Abby and I are well aware that we didn’t go about this in the best possible way. We don’t need to be reminded of it every time I take her hand or she leans in to hug me. Look, we know we hurt Jake and we both know that if we weren’t together that night than it would be most likely that I would be dead and not Callie. We live with this knowledge every day. I can’t ask Abby to go through this. I won’t do that to her.”   
Jaha took a deep breath before he popped a piece of the cinnamon flavored gum in his mouth. Marcus was sure that the man who was currently chopping on the small piece of Trident was using the moment to figure out what to say next. Slowly Jaha looked back across the small room and at Marcus.   
“So, you are making this decision because it is what Abby wants.”   
The man said it more like a statement than a question. It could have made Marcus angry and yet, he didn’t feel angry at all.   
“I’m doing this because I want a life with Abby and I don’t want her to look at me one day when the stares from the people in this town haven’t stopped and she wonders why she ever gave into my need for her. So, yes, I’m doing this so that Abby and I can create a life, a family, and I never want my children to grow up in this town while the other kids tell them just how their parents got together.”   
Marcus watched as Jaha shook his head.   
“Do you think for one second that the tragedy of Callie won’t follow you where you go?”   
“It might follow us in our memories but the people from this town won’t. Abby and I need a new start.”   
Jaha shook his head.   
“Abby is worth all this. Quitting your job as a detective? What will you do, Marcus?”   
“I’ve saved up money, were selling my house and Abby’s. We will start fresh. Abby has saving’s too.”   
“What about your mother?”  
Marcus shrugged and let out a small laugh.   
“Do you think for one minute that I would leave my mother here? Come on Jaha, you know me better than that. She will be coming with us. Especially now that she knows that Abby and I want kids, my mother wants to be part of that.”   
“So, that’s it? You are done?”   
“I would like to clean out my desk today.”   
Jaha leaned forward and spit the piece of gum into the trash can before staring at Marcus.   
“I guess that is it then. You’ll have paperwork to take care of.”   
“Of course, let’s get it handled.”   
Marcus watched as his captain gave a shake of his head before standing up.  
“Go ahead and clean out your desk and I’ll get the paperwork together.” 

Marcus sat quietly at his desk for a moment. Slowly he began putting his things inside the white file box that he had taken with him from his mother’s house. He didn’t feel as if he had to keep much, however he did take a picture that in a frame of him, Callie, Jake and Abby. It was from the baseball game, the one where Abby said she had first really began to notice him. Abby’s hair was falling around her shoulders while she wore a baseball cap, a team jersey and dark blue jeans. She looked beautiful. However, she always had, but, that night there had been something special about her. All four of them were looking at the camera, Callie standing to the left of Marcus, her arm around him, Abby to his right, her arm linking through his while Jake had his arm around Abby’s waist. He wondered how anyone could have ever thought that he and Abby could have stayed away from each other when she held him like that. To anyone else it would have seemed like a friendly picture and yet, Marcus knew that even then he had wanted her that perhaps even then, he had already been in love with her.   
“So, look whose here.”   
Marcus didn’t need to look up as he placed the frame inside the box, he would have known Jake’s voice anywhere. There had been a time when Jake would have said those words and not have said them with such bitterness. Marcus chose only to stand up and look at Jake before he turned back towards his desk again.   
“I should have known you would be a coward and run.”   
There were a lot of things that Marcus could have said and in the end, he had chosen at that particular moment to remain quiet. Only what Marcus hadn’t expected was that his silence would only make Jake angrier. Marcus would be lying if he hadn’t had the memory of being handcuffed to a table while the man who was currently trying to upset him had beat him to a pulp.   
“What? Do you need to hurry home so you can fuck my fiancé’?”   
This time Marcus took a deep breath and tried to settle his nerves. He was placing a plaque he had been given for delivering a baby on a freeway when Jake shoved him. Marcus hit the desk with thud before he turned around and face a red – faced Jake. Marcus took the first punch to the gut, Jake clearly was sure that he had the upper hand as he swung a second and third time, only this time Marcus wasn’t locked in place. When Marcus punched Jake, it wasn’t even for what Jake had done to him in the interrogation room, there was a part of Marcus that had known he deserved it. No, he had hit Jake one, twice, three times because what he had seen in his minds eyes was Abby being thrown against the wall by Jake and for that Jake would have to pay for hurting the woman that Marcus loved.   
“You son of a bitch, Marcus! You had no right to destroy me and Abby! No right!”   
Marcus didn’t bother to respond, nothing he would say would be enough and he knew that. Marcus knew that he hadn’t had a right to do what he did and yet, there was no going back now and the truth was that he didn’t want too.   
The other people in the precinct quickly came to break the two men up. Jake was held back while Marcus who had always been well respected member of the precinct grabbed his box, turned on his heel and left. He knew he could fill out the paperwork saying that he was resigning at a different time. He left the place he had worked at for years and headed to his truck and home to Abby. 

 

Abby stood at Callie’s headstone and stared at the words sprawled across it. No words seemed fitting enough to say what a wonderful woman she had been. The tears came freely for Abby, they always did when she was alone. She didn’t like to cry about Callie in front of Marcus, it always made him seem a little distant. No, this moment was one that she had to deal with all on her own.   
The leaves fell from trees around her, there was a chill in the ear as she stood alone in the cemetery. Perhaps she should feel afraid, but, she didn’t.   
“I don’t know what to say to you, Callie. I wonder if you were alive if you would just tell me to leave or maybe even tell me worse. I would deserve it. Would it help to know that I love him? Would it help to know that he had quickly become my everything? Callie, I know what Marcus and I did was wrong, I knew it then and I will know it forever. I thought of walking away from him, of trying not to love him. I can’t though, I could never stop. Were going to leave, I can’t stay here. We can’t stay here. I’m so sorry for what happened to you. Marcus is sorry too. He has so much regret for not being there when you were attacked, he feels like he could have helped you, to save you from being hurt, from being killed. I can almost feel you rolling your eyes at me. I wonder if that is possible to do from heaven. Callie, I loved you so much and I love you now.”   
Abby wipe a tear away that had begun to fall down her face. She kneeled down on the cold grass, suddenly feeling like she needed to be closer to her friend that she had betrayed.   
“Callie, I want your forgiveness so much and there isn’t one part of me that thinks that you would have bestowed it because of the way Marcus and I handled this. You would have no reason to believe me when I say that I love you. I can only tell you that I love him, I want a life with him. If I were to walk away from him then it seems like your death would be even more meaningless. I’m going to love him with everything I have, with every single part of me. Callie, I want to be the woman who gets to comfort him when we are hurting the way we are hurting now. I want to laugh with him and share in life’s joys with him. We want to get married and have babies. Were going to move and start a new life. Marcus and I think it is what is best. I suppose we are running away from what we caused but, I don’t want everyone to stare at us when I so much as look at he man I love. I guess I don’t even know why I am here. I am sure you wouldn’t want to here from me. I had to come, I had to say I was sorry, I had to tell you that Marcus was more than a fling and I guess I knew that even in the beginning. I’m so sorry that you are a casualty of it and I am sorry that Jake too got hurt. I suppose in some ways it is worse for him because he had to live with it. I don’t think you got off easier but I am glad that you don’t have to deal with the aftermath of it. I’m sorry, Callie. I’m not sorry for loving him but, I am sorry that I destroyed what was such a wonderful and beautiful friendship. I will miss pizza, wine and scary movies. I will miss your laugh, your smile and all the talks we had that lasted until the early morning hours. I’m sorry for what you went through that night and sorry that the man we both love couldn’t have saved you from the monster that stole you from this world. I hope that in heaven you have everything that you should have been able to have on earth. I hope you eat all the pizza you want without gaining any calories and drink all the wine you want without one of those monster headaches you used to get.”   
Abby let out a small laugh thinking of how Callie used to hold her head even as she would take another sip of wine. Abby stayed on her knees, the footsteps behind her startled her. Quickly Abby got to her feet.   
“I’m sorry, Abby. I didn’t mean to scare you.”   
“What are you doing here, Sinclair?”   
“I wanted to come and see the headstone, I heard it was placed yesterday. I guess I just had to see it, that it would make it more real.”   
Abby was still holding her chest. Sinclair looked from Abby to the headstone.   
“I had to see it too.”   
Sinclair gave a slight nod.   
“She was just one of the good one’s you know?”   
Abby gave a slight smile, she did indeed know.   
“Callie was one of the best women I have ever known.”   
Suddenly Abby felt the tension between her and Sinclair rise. Sinclair had always had a thing for Callie and the truth was it was something of a joke between Abby and Callie. Abby felt Sinclair’s eyes on her. She was sure not to look at him, suddenly she wished Marcus was with her.   
“You were her friend and yet, you slept with the man she had hoped to marry….”   
He shook his head as he let out a laugh.   
“I knew about the jokes you guys made. I knew she thought it was funny that I would have laid down my life for her.”   
“That isn’t true, we never made dark jokes about it.”   
“But you did make jokes, didn’t you, Abby?”   
“We thought it was sweet, the way you always had hope that she would return your feelings. We always wanted you to find love.”   
“I did find it, I found it with her. Do you know what kind of strength it takes to love someone from a far?”   
Abby swallowed hard, the fear ran through her, making her feel a bit nauseous. Her purse and cellphone were in the car. All she had was her keys on a lanyard around her neck.   
“No.”   
“That’s right. You don’t know. You made it too easy for Marcus. You just spread them wide and let him have his way with you. The worst part about that is that the man you are with now will always wonder if it is going to be that easy for another man to take you and have his way with you. He’ll deny it if you bring it up, but, he will, Abby.”   
“I have to go.”   
Abby was shaking, it was noticeable to Sinclair as he stared at her.   
“Do you have to run home to Marcus? Seems only fitting. When Callie died, she was trying to get to Marcus too.”   
The words weren’t threatening and yet they sent even more fear through Abby. With her hand around her keys while the lanyard sat around her neck, she began to take quick steps towards her car. Quickly she pulled the keys from her neck as she got closer to the car. By the time she clicked the button to unlock her vehicle, her tears had gone from tears of sadness to tears of fear.   
Quickly she pulled away while Sinclair simply stood next to Callie’s grave and watched as Abby left. 

Marcus was in the kitchen with his mother when Abby walked in. He turned towards the door as Abby moved quickly to him and put her arms around him. Marcus embraced her, kissing the top of her head as he tightly held her.   
“What happened, baby?”   
“Sinclair, he said some things. I don’t want to talk about. Just don’t let go, not yet.”   
“I’ll make her some tea.”   
With that, Vera turned from them to make something to help comfort Abby. As for now, Marcus seemed to have it under control.   
Marcus leaned back so that Abby would be forced to look at him.   
“Did he hurt you?”   
The tears slid down her face as her bottom lip trembled.   
“No, it was just how he said things. He scared me, he didn’t say anything threatening and didn’t even move closer to me, it was just the way he spoke.”   
“How do I help you, baby?”   
“Tell me that we’re leaving this place.”   
Marcus gave a slow nod.   
“We are going to start a new life, somewhere new. My mom signed papers today and her house is going on the market in a couple of days. Have you gotten any offers on your house?”   
Abby wiped her tears before leaning back into Marcus.   
“No, you?”   
“Just one, about fifty thousand less than what it is worth. I excepted it though. Realtor says because a murder took place there, that we probably can’t get more for it.”   
Abby merely nodded in response.   
“What is it, Abby?”   
“You know I love you?”   
“Yes.”   
“Do you trust me?”   
He laid a kiss to her cheek.   
“Yes, what is all this, Abby?”   
“Sinclair said that you would always wonder if I would cheat on you as easily as I cheated on Jake.”   
“We have enough on our plates than to worry about that.”   
“But, is it something you think about?”   
Marcus once again leaned back and cupped her face in his hands.   
“No, I don’t think about that. Look everything is hard right now, but, we are going to get past this. My house will be going in escrow and as soon as it closes, the three of us will move regardless of the other two houses sale or not.”   
“Thirty more days here and then we can go?”   
“Yes, then we will start fresh.”   
“I want to leave now, Marcus.”   
With that he took a trembling Abby back into his arms and held her close to him.   
“We’re going to get through this. We will.”   
“It would be easier if we had never started this.”   
“Don’t say that. Please.”   
“Maybe I should go on my own. You might be better off.”   
Marcus held her tighter, the fear moving through him.   
“Don’t! Don’t do this!”   
“I’m afraid.”   
“I know, I know. Please, you are all I have. Please, I need you. I need you like I need air, please, Abby.”   
She pushed her face into the crook of his neck.   
“I didn’t mean I was leaving, I just meant that maybe we should have been smarter.”   
“Perhaps, but, what is the point of thinking about that now?” 

Later that night, Abby with a shaky voice told Marcus about what had taken place with Sinclair and he told her about how and why he had new bruises to his ribs. Thirty days could not come fast enough. 

To be continued


	15. Chapter 15

The days passed slowly, Marcus and Abby thrilled that her house was in escrow. Vera downright refused to go with them to a new town to look at houses. Marcus and Abby were just as relenting.   
“Mom, I am not going to leave you alone while there is a mad man on the loose. Please.”   
Abby listened as Marcus was going half mad as he pleaded with his mother.   
“Marcus, I said I would move with you but, really, you want me to pick out a house when I am in my sixties.”   
The man looked over at Abby before glaring at his mother, despite the past few weeks, Abby laughed. Marcus and Vera looked over at the woman who was covering her mouth as she tried unsuccessfully to halt the giggles.   
“Abby, what is so funny?”   
Marcus had his head cocked as he stared at her, Vera on the other hand had her own smirk.   
“It’s just I remember a Marcus from not so long ago who would never allow someone to talk to him out of line. Then your mom comes along and is just as headstrong as you and it’s like….”  
She spread out her hands as if unplanning a big scheme  
“……it’s like I finally get where you get it from. I find it sweet actually.”   
Abby smiled at Marcus who was shaking his head at her.   
“Surely you are not aggreging with my mom that she should stay here?”   
This time Abby laughed again.   
“Certainly not. I think she needs to come with us, it is a matter of safety. It’s just nice to know that there is a reason you are so hot headed.”   
Abby stepped on her tip toes and placed a kiss on his cheek which made Vera smile.   
“I will come with you kids to go pick out a house, my dog is coming with me and I don’t want to hear one word about it, Marcus.”   
With that Vera exited the kitchen while Marcus pulled Abby to him.   
“You are extraordinary, Abby.”   
“You think so?”   
He was biting his lower lip as he stared at hers.   
“I love you, so much so, Abby.”   
She gave him the smile that had always moved him, her eyes shined as he leaned down to give her a quick kiss. 

The next morning, they were getting ready to load up. Vera stepped out to call the dog back in when an envelope on the back porch caught her attention. Slowly she had reached down to pick it up. Marcus was headed downstairs to grab some coffee when Vera came through the back door looking as pale as a ghost.   
“What is it?”   
“Marcus, someone was in the backyard.”   
He started to rush to the back door as Vera stopped him.   
“They’re gone. They left this.”   
Marcus took the envelope and looked at the contents, clear that his mother had already seen too much. The first thing that caught his attention was the pictures. The pictures were 5x7’s of extremely graphic picture of Marcus and Abby. Marcus sighed, he looked up red faced at his mother.   
“I’m so sorry you had to see these.”   
Vera shook her head.   
“I’m sorrier for Abby, dear. She had a hard-enough time dealing with the pictures from the hotel and they weren’t nearly as graphic as these.”   
Marcus could only nod as his heart beat angrily in his chest. The letter was the worse part.   
‘You took the woman I loved! I blame you. I loved Callie and you let her die. How could you possibly think that she wasn’t enough? Is it because of this slut? This one that will go down on you in your own mother’s house? The one that will ride you? I’m watching, Kane! I am watching and when you least expect it, I am not only going to take Abby from you, I am going to do it in such a way that you will never be able to get the image of her bloody and torn apart. I’m coming for her.’  
“Keep Abby in the kitchen, I am going to call Jaha. I’m so sorry, mom.”   
“I’m not angry at you are Abby, I’m angry at the person who thought they could take pictures through my windows and I’m angry that they thought it was ok to step on to my property.”   
Marcus shook his head as he tapped the envelope against his fist. He looked up the stairway.   
“Abby, are you alright?”   
“Yes, be right down.”   
He was relieved to hear her, Marcus didn’t think a mad man was in the house and yet, he had a need to know that she was alright. 

Abby was smiling as she came down the stairs.   
“Do you want some coffee, dear?”   
“I’ll grab it, thank you, Vera.”   
“Are you looking forward to house hunting today?”   
Abby looked off into space as if she was pondering the question, then she smiled at Vera.   
“You know, I’m really excited about starting a life with Marcus and creating our own family. The last few weeks have been awful. If I hadn’t of had Marcus by my side, I’m not quite sure how I would have dealt with it.”   
Vera watched the woman who had stolen her sons heart and smiled.   
“I’m glad, Abby.”   
The younger woman gave a sad nod.   
“I know Marcus and I brought a lot of this all on ourselves. I know there are people who hate us. The thing is, Vera, this love is like something people write about. As much as I hate that Callie left this earth, I don’t know that I could have ever been happy living with the regret of running away from Marcus. It’s the truth.”   
“I think once you guys are out of this area, the new start will be like a breath of fresh air.”   
Abby smiled at Vera.   
“Thank you for taking us in, Vera.”   
“I never would have made you guys part and I have a pretty good feeling my son would have dragged me out of here if it meant getting to you and keeping you safe.”   
Marcus came back in the room; the envelope must have been tucked away somewhere safe. He clapped his hands together.   
“Are my ladies ready?”   
Vera gave him a stern look which he promptly looked away. Abby however, was always one to catch on.   
“Is something wrong?”   
“Just that we are running late, we really need to get going.”   
Abby crossed her arms in front of her chest and stared Marcus down.   
“You know, Marcus, we can go once you tell me what is going on.”   
“Now, isn’t really the time.”   
She could the sound of the way he was trying to plead with her. Abby gave a nod before she watched him.   
“Think very carefully, Marcus. Don’t let me find out something that could tear us apart all because you didn’t trust me. Please, I am asking you point blank to tell me what is going on. Marcus, please.”   
Marcus ran his hands down his face and he let out a groan. He moved to her slowly and took her hand.   
“Come with me…”   
He looked over his shoulder at his mother.   
“Don’t go outside and don’t answer the door.”   
She gave a small nod.   
“I won’t, honey.” 

Abby could feel herself shaking as Marcus led her into a tiny office. He sat her down on the small couch as he moved around the desk and pulled out a red envelope. It was clear that Marcus did not want to tell her what was going on. The man she loved moved so slowly as he came back to where she was sitting. She tried to reach for the envelope but, he held it out of reach.   
“Before you see this, I want you to know that I will protect you come hell or high-water.”   
It was as if he could physically see that Abby’s heart was dropping.   
“What is it, baby?”   
“Someone left this on the back porch sometime this morning after I let the dog out. I surveyed the area as he went out and nothing was there. When my mom went out to let the dog back in, she spotted the envelope on the back porch.”   
“Someone was that close to us?”   
She began to shake. Marcus set the envelope down and pulled her to him.   
“I’m here, baby. I am here.”   
“Marcus, is it bad?”   
He couldn’t lie to her, she had all but, demanded it when they were still in the kitchen. He nodded against her.   
“It’s bad, sweetheart.”   
“I need to see it.”   
Although everything inside of him was telling him not to hand the envelope over, he reached down, picked it up from the floor and handed it to her. It broke his heart to see that her hands were shaking as she took it into her hands.   
The pictures were startling. How could they be in such an intimidate moment and not know that someone was watching them and not only that but that they were taking pictures of them.   
“Someone saw us, someone took pictures of us. Marcus, someone took our most private moments and made fun of it. All because this person was in love with Callie and now he wants to kill me?”   
Marcus looked terrified as he tried so hard to keep her from breaking.   
“I will keep you safe. Abby, I love you. I will protect you.”   
She shook her head.   
“What if you can’t? What if you can’t protect me?”   
“Please, lets go look at places to live, the farther we get away from here, the better.”   
Abby shook her head as the tears fell.   
“Your mom saw these?”   
“Yes, babe, she saw them.”   
He pulled her to him again.   
“Please, let’s go to our appointment.”   
Abby nodded as Marcus took her hand and led her from the room. They left the pictures in the envelope and on the desk. 

Very little was said as they packed into the car after being sure that the house was locked up. The dog and Vera were in the backseat, Marcus drove as Abby sat beside him. Marcus held Abby’s hand, trying very much to console her. It was a three-hour drive, they stopped every hour to give the dog some time to run around. Abby took every opportunity to lean into Marcus, he put his arms around her every time.   
“You know what I wish?”   
He kissed her forehead when she said it.   
“Tell me.”   
Abby leaned her forehead against his chest.   
“I wish I had met you first. I wish that we didn’t have a hand in Callie dying.”   
Marcus dragged his knuckles down her cheeks.   
“You know what, Abby. We could go back and forth on all the things we wish, or maybe how we could have handled it better. The thing is, we are in this now. It sucks and I’m scared. I know with everything that I am that I cannot lose you. Yes, I wish we were already years in the future, you being pregnant with our baby and another one running around. You know what though? This right now, this is why we will be so happy in the future. We are dealing with all the sucky stuff now. The rest will be easy compared to this.”   
“Marcus, I want to believe you. I want to be able to make love to you and not be afraid that someone is hiding out and taking pictures. I don’t want to look over my shoulder every where we go. Marcus, I just want to snuggle with you under blankets and hide from the scary things of the world.”   
She felt his nod against her.   
“Me too, Abby. Me too.” 

They were back on the road in less than fifteen minutes. They met with a realtor who promised discretion. The first house was located on a block that had oak trees which Vera loved. The main house was a three-bedroom, two and a half baths. The small house in the back yard was a one-bedroom that Vera absolutely adored. Abby and Marcus both asked about schools and parks. They looked at two more houses, each one more wonderful than the next. They put an offer in on a beautiful three-bedroom, three baths with a nanny shack in the back that Vera very quickly fell in love with. There was a large pool in the backyard with a fence around it. There was an outdoor shower just off of the master bedroom. This is where things got tricky. Vera would be purchasing the house under her maiden name in order to throw off whoever it was that was after them. Although, she had always gone by Vera, it was a nickname.   
They had explained to the realtor that they had a stalker and that safety and privacy was of the highest importance.   
“I understand, Sir. I will put the offer in under the maiden name. None of the information about where you lived before will be placed on any paperwork.”   
Marcus nodded and then being who he looked over any documents to be sure that Vera had used her maiden name.   
“I did it correctly, son.”   
He placed a gentle hand on his mother’s shoulder.   
“I just have to be sure, mom.”   
She patted his hand.   
“I know you love her, honey.”   
“I do, mom.”   
“I’m really tired, I wish we didn’t have to drive back tonight.”  
“We can find a hotel.”   
“What about my dog.”   
“Service dog, it will be fine.” 

Two hours later they were in a suite at a hotel in the new area that they would be calling home. Vera had showered, cuddled up with her dog on the bed and passed right out. Marcus was relieved that his mother felt safe and would be getting a good night of sleep.   
Marcus made sure the door to the hotel was locked and bolted, he took a small table and stuck it in front of the door. This way if someone was able to bypass the locks, he would hear the table and lamp fall over. Abby was lying on her side on the bed they would share, she was breathing softly. He moved to her slowly and placed a soft kiss to her forehead.   
He moved to the bathroom and stripped slowly. It felt good to be out of the clothes that he had worn all day. He kept the door to the bathroom opened in case Abby needed him. He stepped under the hot water and let out a sigh as he let the warmth cascade over his body.   
The truth was that he was downright terrified. He was so afraid of loosing Abby or his mother for that matter. The stress had him in knots. Although, Marcus had been trained for years on how to disarm someone, trained to capture someone and to take them down. Although, it was his duty to protect the two women sharing the suite with him, he was tired, exhausted, stressed and scared. Marcus heard movement and he froze. Suddenly, he shut out the sounds of anything else and only listened to the footsteps.   
“Baby?”   
The sound of Abby’s voice made him feel relieved.   
“Abby, you scared me.”   
She stepped into the shower and wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her cheek against his chest.   
“Marcus, why won’t you ever let me comfort you for a change?”   
“It’s my job to take care of you, Abby.”   
She looked up at him.   
“This is a relationship, it works both ways. Marcus, please let me help you.”   
He looked like he could fall over at any minute. Abby had known that he hadn’t been sleeping well.   
“I don’t know how to let you help me.”   
She leaned up and kissed him softly.   
“I have an idea.”   
With that she lowered herself before him. He gripped her shoulder.   
“You don’t have to do that.”   
Yet, she didn’t stop and he wasn’t so powerful as to stop her. 

Afterwards, she dried off his entire body and made him climb into bed. Abby rubbed his back as he finally drifted off to sleep. Abby wasn’t far behind the man she loved. 

To be continued………..


	16. Chapter 16

No fingerprints had been found on the red envelope and all threats had seemed to have stopped, not just that but, the news was indicating that they were excited to report that it had been two months since the ‘hotel killer’ had made an appearance.   
Abby had stopped looking over her shoulder, Vera was sleeping better and Marcus had finally stopped monitoring their every move. 

It was on a Wednesday when Abby went out to the store, Marcus kissed her goodbye and walked her out to the car. Three hours later when Abby returned she was very adamant that she had needed to speak with him. They disappeared into the den that was full of boxes that they would be moving into the new house in the next few days. Marcus sat in the office chair as Abby sat on the desk in front of him. He was immediately distracted by her legs, his fingers trailed from her ankles that were fitted perfectly into black heels.   
“Marcus, we have to talk.”   
“Mmm hmm, we will.”   
He gripped the backs of her knees and pulled himself towards her. Abby smiled as he kissed the inside of her knee.   
“Baby, we are supposed to be talking.”   
“You are talking, I just heard you. Mom’s not home, you could talk a little louder.”   
She laughed as he raised her left leg and set her ankle on his shoulder.   
“Stop.”   
Abby tried to pull her leg back, yet, he held it in place and then set a seductive kiss on the inside of her ankle.   
“Come on, sweetheart. Do you really want me to stop?” He arched an eyebrow and looked up at her as he gave a slight shake of his head. “Cause I have to tell you, baby, that I don’t want to stop at all.”  
With that he licked her from her ankle to her knee with the tip of his tongue. She moaned while still trying to maintain her need to tell him something.  
“See, I think you like it, Abby.”   
“I do. Marcus, I do.”   
He sucked the inside of her kneecap as he stood up from the chair which forced her to lay back on the desk. Abby heard the sound of his zipper and thought to hell out with it, she could talk to him later.   
“I like you in this dress, Abby. Fuck, you are so perfect.”   
Abby’s leg was still up on his shoulder, he didn’t bother with pulling off her underwear, merely moved it aside before plunging into her and taking her fast and hard. Abby gripped the desk hanging on as he bottomed out inside her over and over again. Very rarely was Marcus like this when it came to sex and yet, she never stopped him. In fact, she enjoyed that she had the ability to make him this hot and this needy for her.   
Their bodies slapped together as he moaned loudly at each heavy and hard thrust. Abby knew that some of this was due to all the nervousness he had when they were sure someone was coming after them. Only now had he begun to relax. If a release was what the man she loved wanted, then Abby was more than willing to allow him to have it. In fact, it turned her on that it was she that he always wanted, even now as he had his arm wrapped around the knee that was propped on his shoulder, she could see that he was careful not to hurt her even as he kept his hips pounding against her.   
Abby gripped his wrist that was next to her head, holding on to him as the sensation of him began building the orgasm. He stared down at her as he strained his jaw, clearly trying not to cum just yet. Her name was starting to tumble from his lips. Abby touched her own clit, making a loud moan escape his lips.   
“Fuck, I love when you do that, Abby. I love it.”   
He couldn’t look anywhere else except at the way her finger moved expertly over herself, he could already feel her clenching around him as the orgasm completely rocked her. It was that moment that sent Marcus slamming into her one last time with his own climax. He laid his head against her stomach as he tried desperately to catch her breath.   
“What did you want to tell me?”   
He was breathless as she rubbed her hands over his back that was still covered by his shirt that never quite came off.   
“Marcus, maybe we should take a few minutes before I tell you.”   
He laughed.   
“No, tell me.”   
Abby sighed.   
“I’m pregnant.”   
Marcus froze momentarily against her before he hovered over her. His hands on the desk next to her sides as he looked into her face. He stared down at her stomach before his eyes drifted back up to hers.   
“What if I hurt you? What if I hurt the baby?”   
She smiled up at him, taking his face in her hands.   
“The baby and I are fine.”   
Marcus leaned down and kissed her lips gently.   
“This is wonderful news, Abby. The most perfect, wonderful news in the entire world.”   
“Really?”   
He smiled down at her.   
“Abby, I want a family with you and now we are starting one. Let’s not tell anyone. I don’t want to take a chance whoever this person was finds out and lashes out.”   
“I was thinking the same thing.”   
“Good, because protecting you and this baby is my top priority.”   
Abby leaned up and kissed him.   
“I love you, Marcus. I don’t ever want to be without you.”   
He kissed her tenderly before pulling her towards him so that she was sitting up. He placed a hand on her belly.   
“I can’t believe you are mine, Abby.”   
“I’ll always be yours.”   
They kissed slowly before they fixed their clothing. 

Abby had showered and changed into sweats, a t-shirt, and tennis shoes. She had pulled her hair up in a messy ponytail before heading downstairs. Marcus took one look at her and shook his head.   
“You are out of you mind if you think you are going to help pack up the moving truck.”   
Vera looked between the two, not sure of what was happening.   
“I’m going to go upstairs. I will see you two later.”   
“Thank you, Mom.”   
Abby stood with her arms crossed underneath her breasts. Marcus stood from where he had been sitting on the barstool.   
“You can’t possibly do all that work by yourself.”   
“Abby, we are only taken the essentials.”   
The woman threw her arms out as if she was about to prove a point.   
“Which includes two different beds and a desk that is very heavy.”   
He angled his head and stared at her.   
“And you think that I am going to let my pregnant girlfriend lift that stuff. Not a chance in hell, Abby.”   
He tried to lay his hands on her hips and she moved away, not allowing his touch.  
“Is this how it is going to be? You being concerned with every move that I make?”   
Marcus shook his head slowly before crossing his own arms. He let out a long breath before he let his hands fall to his hips.   
“Do you know how long I was in love with you, Abby?”   
She looked from her feet and up to his eyes.   
“Do you, Abby?”   
He closed the distance between them and took her face in his hands. He never gave her a chance to answer.   
“Abby, I loved you before I ever kissed your lips. I tried to tell myself that I didn’t, tried to tell myself that I would never be with my best friend’s woman and I never thought that I would ever get to stand here and look in your eyes and know that you were carrying our child. Please, I know that the last several weeks have been so difficult, but, please, let me take care of you both.”   
“I haven’t hardly been able to work and now that I’m going to be transferring hospitals at some point, it just feels like I’m not productive at all.”   
Marcus shook his head and let out a groan.   
“Will you at least agree to only lift small boxes?”   
She smiled.   
“You, Marcus Kane make it real hard to stay mad at you. Not only do you tell me how much you love me, you agree to let me lift boxes.”   
He laughed as he leaned his forehead against hers.   
“Abby, if you get tired even a little bit, promise me you will lay down.”   
“You trying to get me into bed?”   
He let out a small laugh.   
“Do you know one of the things that I love the most?”   
She shook her head even as she kept her forehead against his.   
“I hope you’ll tell me.”   
“I love the way you look, just like this, when you are sitting in bed and you have your reading glasses on. Abby, you are so beautiful in every way.”   
“You like the sweats more than the skirt?”   
He laughed, a hearty laugh.   
“There are things to love about each look, sweetheart.”   
“Marcus, you know what I love?”   
“Not even a little.”   
“I love that you make me feel like I am absolutely everything to you.”   
With that he cupped her face again and leaned back to look at her.   
“Abby, you are my everything. I think that it’s been true since I first laid my eyes on you.” His voice was a mere whisper as he said it.   
“Now, get to work woman.”   
She laughed and kissed him before she headed into the den to collect the first few boxes. 

Four days later they were in the new house, they didn’t have everything and yet, they had enough to be able to get by. Marcus went to work right away at the new precinct. Vera and Abby were busy thinking about ideas for the nursery. They poured over baby items as they walked through Babies ‘R’ Us near the new house. They were so far away from all the drama and for the first time in so long, both of the women felt like they could breathe. 

Two months later, Abby had started to show. There had still been no leads on the ‘hotel killer’ and that was fine with Marcus as long as his mother and the mother of his child was safe.  
Marcus was with Abby when they heard the heart beat of their baby. They both cried as they saw and heart the little ‘beep-beep-beep’ on the screen. The doctor printed out a picture of their baby that they happily displayed in their living room and of course Marcus wanted one for his wallet.   
When Abby was four months along, Marcus had gotten down on one knee and proposed when they were on a walk by the lake. Abby had cried when Marcus once again, declared his love and of course, she had said she would be happy to be his wife. 

Marcus was at work on a Thursday, bringing a case to a close. Vera had gone to visit a friend in Florida while Abby was going to go and pick out the paint for the nursery. She was so excited to get started, it took everything she had to agree to wait for Marcus to be able to help. Abby, did lay down tarps in hopes of getting started on the baby’s room on Friday when Marcus should be able to have the day off. She was looking forward to cooking dinner and having him to herself. Not that she didn’t love Vera, she did. It was just nice to be able to be alone with the man that would be her husband. 

Marcus left work just after five thirty, it was already dark when he pulled out of the parking lot. He wondered if he had ever been as content as he was now. He stopped at a nearby store and picked up flowers for Abby. She had made it clear that she wanted to spend most of their night in bed, and well, he wasn’t a man that would complain about that. He knew that Abby had been very sweet about Vera living on the same lot as them and even though his mother had her own little home, she spent a lot of her time with her son. Abby would never complain about it. So, when it was just going to be the two of them, he wanted it to count.   
His street was quiet as he pulled into the driveway. He was grateful for the quaint street that his kids would be able to grow up on. The dog wasn’t barking from the backyard, like normal. Abby must have him in the house with her. Sometimes it made her feel comfortable to keep the dog in with her if Vera wasn’t going to be home, and who could blame her especially after what they had all went through. The lights were off, he wondered if Abby hadn’t gotten tired, she was growing a baby inside of her after all. Marcus put his key in the lock, only it wouldn’t work as if something inside of it had been stripped and the key couldn’t make the right connection.   
He didn’t want to wake her up. Marcus carried the flowers with him to the side gate and reached over, unlocking it Marcus walked past the rose bushes, trying to be careful not to scare Abby if she were to wake up and think she was hearing an intruder. Marcus stopped dead in his tracks the flowers fell from his hand, on the sidewalk leading from his mother’s granny shack to the main house was the dog. Marcus said the name more to himself than he did to the dog that wasn’t moving. Marcus moved quickly to the furry dog and turned him over, the dog’s stomach had been gutted. The man jumped back, covering his mouth so as not to let a cry and alert who was ever there. Suddenly, his heart fell. ‘Abby!’ He screamed it silently in his own mind as the flowers were crushed beneath his feet as he moved to the porch and walked up the two small steps. This time he didn’t have to use his key, the door was unlocked, he had half expected as much.   
His gun was drawn as he moved as quietly as possible to the house that was supposed to be their safe place. On the stove was the dinner that Abby had never been able to finish making. He was desperate to call her name, to yell for her, to pull her into his arms and hold her until she felt safe.   
“Marcus, Marcus, Marcus. As I live and breathe.”   
He froze, he knew that voice. Marcus shook off the fright and kept moving forward until he was in the doorway of the room that was to be the nursery for their baby. He could only see the silhouettes by the moonlight coming through the window.   
“Abby, are you alright?”   
“Yes.”   
Sinclair had the gun pointed at Abby’s head.  
Her voice was shaky and she was terrified.   
“What do you want with her?”   
“I saw you guys that night. The night when you were being awarded a hero. Yet, you were outside and with your best friend’s lady. You had no problem kissing up her leg and telling her how you wanted to be inside her and this whore wanted you too.”   
The assailant put his mouth to Abby’s ear, making her and Marcus both cringe.   
“And you let him inside of you didn’t you, you rotten whore?”   
Marcus tried to control his breathing even as he was growing enraged.   
“Leave her alone.”   
“Yes, because you are the one that I really want. I was in love with Callie and you treated her like trash, it only goes to show that you need to be treated the same way, Marcus. You and your woman.”   
“Sinclair, please don’t do this.”   
The man pointed the gun from Abby and turned it on Marcus instead, a shot rang out. Marcus shot at the same time. 

Backup came rushing in immediately, Marcus had notified his need for assistance after finding the dog. Marcus holstered his gun after taking Sinclair’s and unchambering it. He froze when he saw Abby on the floor.   
“Abby?!”   
He heard the sirens, the sound of footsteps and someone yelling his name.   
“Help, my fiancé! Please help.”   
Marcus had Abby cradled in his arms. He was yelling her name with no response.   
“Abby! Oh God, No! Please! Abby!” 

To be continued


	17. Chapter 17

Marcus paced back and forth, his mom had flown back in and tried desperately to calm her son. There wasn’t much Vera Kane could do, not when she didn’t know what would happen to Abby. Marcus thought back to when Abby was nothing more than a fantasy in his head, he wished he hadn’t brought her and their child to this place when he was on one side of a wall and them on the other. It felt like hell waiting for the doctor to come out and tell him if the woman he loved and the child they had created were safe.   
It took over an hour until a doctor came out and simply yelled out ‘Abby Walters’. Marcus had stopped pacing and then moved quickly to the man in the blue scrubs.   
“You are?”   
“I live with Abby, the father of the baby.”   
The doctor gave a slight nod before moving in to the corner to talk to Marcus more privately.   
“Alright, so it seems that Abby’s heart rate sped up. Normally, that wouldn’t be an issue. However, because of the pregnancy, it caused the heart rate of the baby to increase as well. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to bring it down in time.”   
Marcus stared at the old man in front of him.   
“What does that mean? In time? What does that mean?”   
The doctor took a deep breath.   
“I’m sorry, Sir. It means that the fetus didn’t survive.”   
Marcus sucked in his breath as his mouth fell open. One hand quickly covered his own heart as he tried to steady himself. Their baby was gone.   
“Sir?”   
There were no words to be said.   
“Does Abby know?”   
The doctor shook his head slowly.   
“We gave her medicine to calm her, she is still sleeping it off. The course of action is that because she was far enough along, she will have to have to go into labor in order to push the fetus out. We’d like you to be with her for that.”   
What could he say? It didn’t feel like anything could be said. He merely accepted his mother’s heartbroken look as she hugged her son before Marcus wordlessly followed the doctor back to where Abby lay in a drug induced sleep. He reached out and took Abby’s hand while one of his hands stayed glued to the baby bump where there deceased child stay in a permanent sleep.   
It was nearly an hour later when Abby came too. Marcus sat on the edge of the bed, one of her hands still locked in his.   
“Marcus, the baby? Is the baby alright?”   
When his eyes met hers, she saw the heartbreak and she knew.   
“Our baby didn’t make it?”   
He felt like he could do nothing except just to take Abby into his arms and hold her.   
“I’m sorry, Abby.”   
Marcus barely got the words out. 

It was two hours later when Abby had to go through labor with no baby cry at the end of it. Marcus stood next to her, holding her hand while his arm was around her. The room wasn’t full of excitement as they waited for new life to enter it. Instead the voices were somber as they waited to see the child that would never experience life.   
“One more push.”   
Abby cried into the crook of Marcus’s neck as she felt their child leave her body. Although the baby never made a sound, her parents cried against one another. 

The doctor and nurses left the room, leaving Marcus and Abby alone. The baby laid wrapped in a receiving blanket on a tray. Abby laid on her side staring out the window as she said not a word. Marcus didn’t want to push her and yet at the same time, he was so afraid that he might have too.   
He moved quietly to the where his unbreathing child lay. Even though he didn’t have to be careful of the baby’s neck, Marcus slid on hand under the head and the other on the baby’s lower back as he lifted the tiny girl into his arms.   
He knew the baby would never hear his voice or understand his words and yet Marcus sang to her anyway. Marcus moved gently from side to side as he stared down at the girl that had been no bigger than the palm of his hand. He kissed the tiny forehead and whispered that he loved her. Marcus looked over at the woman he loved who hadn’t so much as looked at their tiny girl who would never dance for them or show them her cartwheel.   
“Abby?”   
“No, Marcus.”   
Still he held the tiny girl in his arms as he sat on the edge of the bed. When he spoke, he kept his voice in a mere whisper.   
“I think you should at least hold her, I’m afraid you will regret it if you don’t.”   
“Our baby died, I lost our baby.”   
He reached out with his free hand and squeezed Abby’s arm, while his other arm protectively held their baby.   
“No! Our child was stolen from us because a madman broke into our home.”   
Abby shook her head in response before she began to speak.   
“No! I should have been watching. I let the dog out and that was how he got in to the house. I should have known to check everything beforehand and I didn’t.”   
“Baby, this is not your fault. Please, don’t ever blame yourself for this.”   
He pulled Abby to him and their child. The woman he loved hid her face in his neck, determined not to look at the tiny baby that was wrapped in the hospital blanket while it laid protectively in her father’s arm.   
“Please, just hold the baby, just for a minute, Abby.”   
When she softly shook her head in agreement, Marcus stared at Abby for a long moment before he slowly placed the baby who appeared to be sleeping in her arms.   
“We were going to have a daughter, Marcus.”   
“Yes, a daughter.”   
Abby broke, the sobs breaking from her chest freely as the tears slid down her face. Marcus pulled her into his arms, holding her as she held their little girl.   
“What if this is our punishment, Marcus? What if we lost her because of what we did?  
“Abby, loosing her is not our fault, it isn’t. Look, we handled everything wrong but, we did not lose our baby because of it.”   
As much as he tried to convince her, he wasn’t so sure. 

Marcus had gone home and taken the tarps out of the room that was to be the nursery, he removed anything that would have shown it was going to be the baby’s room. He wanted Abby to be alright when she returned. When Abby finally came home, she went to the room that was to be their daughter’s room and shut the door, as if she could lock it from her memory forever. Marcus didn’t bother to open the door after the woman he loved had shut it. 

Abby went back to work at the hospital, Marcus had urged her to take more time and she adamantly refused. The days turned into weeks. Then one-night Abby woke to find that Marcus was not laying with her in the dark. Marcus very rarely stayed in bed when he couldn’t sleep and of course, Abby wanted to know where her comfort had gone. She slid from the bed and slipped on her nightgown and made her way through the house until she heard a sound in the garage. Abby very rarely ever went out there, yet, this time she would head on out in order to see Marcus and make sure he was alright. Slowly, she opened the door to find Marcus standing at the work bench in pajama pants and a grey t-shirt.   
“Honey?”   
He turned to her and gave her a small smile as she stepped into the garage.   
“Why are you out here?”   
He shrugged without looking at her.   
“I couldn’t sleep.”   
“You could have woken me up.”   
He let a small laugh devoid of humor.   
“I would never have done that to you after you worked all week at the hospital.”   
In the corner, Abby caught something that caught her attention.   
“Where did that rocking chair come from?”   
She watched as Marcus only shrugged.   
“Marcus? Where did the rocking chair come from?”   
It was no secret that Marcus had done wood working as a hobby, in the few weeks before the baby was lost he had spent a majority of his time in the garage.  
He tried to take her from the garage. Abby stood firm.   
“Marcus?”   
He let out a sigh before he looked at her. Marcus stood on the steps leading from the garage into the house as he looked at her.   
“Please let’s go in.”   
Abby turned and looked at the rocking chair before turning back to face him.   
“Who are you making that rocking chair for?”   
Marcus moved back down the steps and towards his work bench where he began to move things around absent mindedly. Abby kept her eyes on him and the nervous way that he moved.   
He gave a small shake of his head. She moved towards him and laid her hand on his forearm.   
“Who is the rocking chair for?”   
He didn’t look at her when he spoke.   
“It was for you and…….”   
She listened as his words trailed off.   
“It was for me and the baby?”   
His head gave a slight nod and still he wouldn’t look at her.   
“I’m sorry, Marcus.”   
“For what?”   
“For forgetting that you’re hurting too.”   
And still he didn’t look at her, still he kept his eyes adverted.   
“Marcus?”   
“I don’t want to talk about it, Abby.”   
The woman that loved him heard the way his voice cracked when he spoke.   
“You lost her too.”   
He shook his head.   
“I’m not the one that had to give birth to her only to bury her. Please, I don’t want to talk about this, Abby.”   
“Then let’s talk about the rocking chair.”   
“I thought we would save it for when you become pregnant again.”   
“Marcus?”   
This time when she reached out for him, she forced her way into his arms.  
“I wish you would share your pain with me, Marcus. It wouldn’t make me feel so alone in it.”   
“What do you want me to say?”   
The woman against him shrugged.   
“It’s true that I’ve been so focused on my own pain, Marcus, that I haven’t focused on you as much as I should have.”   
He turned away from her and yet said not a word. Marcus went about his business picking up things around the garage and putting them away. She merely watched him without speaking.   
“I should have done more to keep you and the baby safe, Abby. I keep thinking of the look on your face when you found out that she didn’t make it, that awful look when you found out your baby…..”   
“Our baby. It was our baby, Marcus.”   
Yet, he still didn’t turn and face her. He only shook his head in response.   
“Our baby is gone; Abby and I don’t know how to make sense of it.”   
Only then did his voice let out another crack. Marcus sat on the high stool next to the work bench. Abby moved to him slowly and stepped between his legs as she wrapped her arms around him.   
“I’m sorry that you too have been hurting.”   
She kissed him lightly on his cheek before Abby held him tightly. Marcus buried his face in her neck as he finally gave into the emotions that he had been trying to hide.   
“It’s not your fault, Marcus.”   
He said nothing in response as Abby held him and rubbed his back. Only then did Marcus finally break and allow his emotions to come through, he cried against her. Still, he felt guilty sharing this with Abby when her pain was so raw.  
“Marcus, please come up stairs with me and hold me.”   
“You aren’t supposed to be having sex yet, Abby.”   
She kissed his jaw.   
“I was allowed to have sex three weeks ago, we just haven’t yet.”   
“We don’t have to rush it.”   
“Marcus, I want to be with you. Please.”   
Abby reached around and took his hand before leading him into the house. They moved through it slowly, only their hands touching. When they finally reached the room, Abby pulled off her nightgown, letting it fall to the floor.   
“Are you sure?”   
In response she gave him a soft smile.   
“Yes, I want to be with you, Marcus. I don’t want to spend one more night without you in my arms, Marcus.”   
It was her that moved to him and kissed his lips softly.   
“I’ve missed you, Abby.”   
“Then show me, Marcus.”   
When he was out of his clothes, he laid the woman he loved down on the bed and made love to her slowly. He was terrified that he would hurt her after everything that she had been through. Yet, Abby gripped his back as she moaned his name. Marcus kept his movements rhythmic and slow as her legs fit perfectly over his hips. The weeks of not touching one another had taken its toll on both of them. Abby came as she clung to him while letting his name fall from her lips over and over again. In response, he whispered that he loved her as he thrusted the final times into her. They clung to one another long after, grateful that they were in one another’s arms. 

The weeks had begun to pass and once again, Marcus and Abby were able to find things to be happy about. They no longer lived in fear of a man who was behind bars.

Jake and Jaha were thrusted in the public eye as they were able to arrest a suspect in the hotel murder cases. Marcus’s old boss contacted him a few days after the arrest was made to say the suspect had admitted to killing Callie when Marcus and Jake had gotten too close to the case. There wasn’t much Marcus could say or do. Callie was an unfortunate victim and the truth was that Marcus would probably always blame himself for the fact that someone he had cared about died. 

When Christmas came, Marcus and Abby bought Vera a German Shepperd puppy. They agreed that they would help train the dog. Vera who had been lonely since the loss of her dog, was thrilled with the little bundle of energy. 

The New Year came in, Abby was determined for it to be a good year.   
In March of the New Year, she went to Marcus’s work in hopes of seeing him. He always looked so sexy in his suit with the gun on his hip and his badge in plain view.   
“Hey.”   
He smiled as he got close to her and planted a kiss on her cheek.   
“Hi, somewhere we can talk?”   
Marcus took her hand and pulled her into the empty lunchroom.   
“Tell me how I got so lucky to receive a visit from you in the middle of the day.”   
“I’ve been missing you today.”   
He took Abby in his arms and held her to him.   
“Well, then I count myself a lucky man.”   
Abby inhaled his scent before running her nails down his clothed back.   
“Careful Abby. I’ll have to lock us in this room.”   
“You don’t want to be too rough with a pregnant woman.”   
He froze before leaning back so that he could look into her eye.   
“We are going to have a baby?”   
She was smiling from ear to ear.   
“Yes, we are going to have a baby.”   
Marcus held her tightly.   
“Let’s get married, Abby.”   
She laughed in response.   
“I can’t think of anything that I want more, except for this baby.” 

They were married in May of that year in a small ceremony. 

Their baby, a boy, came in November, a week before Thanksgiving.   
David Johnathon Kane weighed eight pounds even. He had a headful of dark wavy hair and was quite honestly one of the most beautiful babies his parents had ever seen. 

The End.


End file.
